Barnstormers Will Honor Kurt Warner At Friday's Game

The Iowa Barnstormers will retire Kurt Warner's No. 13 jersey at halftime of Friday's 7 p.m. game against the Arizona Rattlers.

Warner, who went from the Barnstormers to an all-pro career in the NFL before retiring after last season, will be in Des Moines to broadcast the game for the NFL Network.

"We think it's great for the Barnstormer fans to have him back," said Jeff Lamberti, the Barnstormers' managing owner. "He is clearly the most famous Iowa Barnstormer and most famous guy coming out of arena football. He's great for our league, and we're thrilled that he wants to broadcast our game."

Lamberti began working on the ceremony several months ago with Warner and Brett Bouchy, who is the Arizona Rattlers' owner and a friend of Warner's.

"Brett and I targeted this date and said hopefully, we can make this work," Lamberti said. "It just seemed like the perfect thing. We worked on it for a long time, and it all came together on Friday."

Warner is from Cedar Rapids and played at Northern Iowa. He led the Barnstormers to consecutive Arena Bowl appearances in 1996-97.

Warner went on to the NFL, where he was the leadue's Most Valuable Player in 1999 and 2001 and led the St. Louis Rams to Super Bowl XXXIV in 2000, where he was the game's MVP.

As part of the ceremony, tickets in the 200 level of Wells Fargo Arena will be $13, $3 to $5 less than normal.

In addition, there will be a small luncheon with Warner at noon Friday to benefit his not-for-profit First Things First foundation, with the donation being $2,500.

"I got asked, 'Did Kurt expect anything in return?' No, he never asked us for anything," Lamberti said. "Back when this first started, we made the offer to raise money for his charity. We knew it was important to him, but personally, he didn't ask for anything."

The Barnstormers haven't given a player Warner's No. 13 jersey since the franchise was re-formed in 2008.

"The only number 13 jersey that I know exists is in the possession of (sportscaster) Keith Murphy, because we made one up for channel 13," said Matt Strawn, another of the Barnstormers' owners. "I may have to ask for it back."