When Iowa's Kurt Warner announced his retirement from football , the game lost a great

But a mom, won her son back.

And while Sue Warner is happy for him, she says she's also tired of worrying about the next hit. "Having to cover my face during games, you know. Counting the seconds after he gets hit to see if he's going to get up."

A recent hit, a collision that leveled Warner in the Cardinals/Saints game was particularly hard. Ms. Warner didn't see the hit, but she saw the seconds after. "All I saw was my son laying on the ground trying to breathe. That was enough for me. I'd rather him be on the ground catching his breath because he's playing with his kids than because some 300-pound guy landed on him."

Sue Warner knows bumps and bruises are part of the game that you see on the outside. It's the toll football can take on the inside that can be the hardest. "Before a game, Kurt would always get what we call 'in the zone.' He didn't disappear physically, but he certainly disappeared mentally. Sometimes he would disappear into a little corner where he could just be alone and concentrate on football."


No doubt kurt's life will change...Sue expects he'll spend alot more time with his beautiful family...And spread the word of his strong faith.

As for his mom, she and her husband tom have plans of their own.

"tom and i were talking about what we're going to do on sunday's...And he said 'i know what i'm going to do, i'm going to watch any game i want and flip back and forth' and i'll go back to taking afternoon naps on sundays."
Kurt Warner's Biggest Fan