Yes, I know that by now we all know about how Kurt Warner and the Rams have gone from grocery store bag boys and NFL also-rans to MVPs and world champs. But think about a couple of things, if you will.

In ESPN the magazine’s preseason NFL edition, according to analysis on every team’s starters, the Rams were chosen dead last in the NFL. Dead last. Behind the Cleveland Browns.

Every starter had a one-line tag that summarized their worth to the team and a rating from 1 to 5. Kurt Warner rated a 1 (the only starting quarterback to get such a rating); his summary was “Okay Arena Football cred, so relax. Wait, yikes!”

Of course, we all know the rest of the story. They were wrong. Absolutely, positively, 100% dead wrong.

Now, I don’t know about you, but this helps to restore my belief in the little guy coming out on top in the end with enough hard work. I mean, think about it. This guy worked at Hy-Vee last year. The Rams were 4-12. Things like that just aren’t supposed to happen. And you can make your argument that they had a soft schedule. The truth of the matter is that when the playoffs were over, the only team in the playoffs who had not lost was the Rams. And the quarterback who’d rated a 1 by ESPN the magazine was the NFL MVP and the Super Bowl MVP. Too bad he didn’t get to go to St. Louis to celebrate…he had a trip to Oahu coming up.

Wonder what he’ll be rated next year.

Someone once said that you make your own luck. I tend to believe this theory, and I think that there is proof positive in this story. Yeah, the original starting quarterback had to be injured for Mr. Warner to get his break, and that’s luck (in a way…I’m sure that Warner never wished injury on him), but he still had to make something of his chance. And he did.

The whole thing makes me feel, if not more confident, at least more hopeful that when I eventually face the real world, that I can come out on top too. I may not be a Super Bowl champion, but I can achieve my goals in life.