Maslowski enjoying a career made the hard way

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Every Kurt Warner fan knows the inspiring story of the hardworking underdog who rockets to the top. <br><br>He graduates from a tiny little college with no football tradition ...

Friday, December 8th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Every Kurt Warner fan knows the inspiring story of the hardworking underdog who rockets to the top.

He graduates from a tiny little college with no football tradition ... gets shuttled off to the Arena League because nobody in the NFL wants him ... slaves over menial jobs while awaiting his chance ... is believed in by nobody but himself.

``If Mike Maslowski was a quarterback, he'd be Kurt Warner,'' said Kansas City Chiefs coach Gunther Cunningham.

Indeed, all you have to do is change the names and the positions and the Mike Maslowski story is almost a carbon copy of the fairy tale journey that took Warner to Super Bowl MVP status a year ago.

``It sounds corny, but it just proves that nobody should ever give up on their dream,'' said Maslowski.

At the same time Warner was bagging groceries in Iowa in 1997, Maslowski was a student-coach at Wisconsin-LaCrosse standing on the sideline watching the New Orleans Saints scrimmage none other than the Chiefs.

Now, following an improbable series of events, he's a starting linebacker for the Chiefs, a ferocious hitter who's been one of the few bright spots during their current five-game losing streak.

Looking back at the 1997 scrimmage and remembering Maslowski standing there with his fierce countenance and shaven head, it still seems weird to Kansas City linebacker Donnie Edwards that he should be starting alongside him.

``He was on the sidelines watching,'' Edwards said. ``Now, he's playing on the team. That's amazing.''

For Maslowski, it's a dream come true.

``I've wanted to play football in the NFL since I was about six years old,'' he said. ``I never really doubted that it would happen.''

Anybody else would have doubted it.

He turned down scholarship help at a Division II school to go to Division III Wisconsin-LaCrosse, where he starred as a linebacker and long snapper and became the first defensive player in 10 years to be named his conference's MVP.

Then after a tryout with the San Diego Chargers, he migrated to the Arena League and then to NFL Europe with the Barcelona Dragons.

That's where he caught the eye of Chiefs scouts, but Cunningham had heard too many glowing reports on obscure players to get overly excited.

``I always get this stuff from the personnel department: `We have this great guy, he plays for the Albuquerque Rockets,' and it never works out that way,'' Cunningham said.

But Maslowski, although worn out from his football adventures in Europe, managed to get a job as a special teams demon. Then in his second season, after Lew Bush faltered at linebacker, Maslowski's journey reached its final destination.

He got his first start against San Francisco and made a couple of head-turning plays, including once when he caught running back Charlie Garner from behind for a 2-yard loss.

``I don't know that Donnie Edwards would have made that play,'' Cunningham said. ``Donnie's faster, but for some reason, that's what Maz has. I was really excited for him.''

Ever since, he's been a steady big-play maker.

And although he looks like a demon with his shaven head and braided goatee , Maslowski has proven exceptionally bright.

``In the linebacker meeting room, he's smart,'' said Edwards.

``Even though he's only in his second year in the league, he understands the game of football more than most younger guys. I don't know if it's because of his coaching experience, but he understands who needs to be where.''

His goatee has become so long, he's tied it with a rubber band.

``It started getting in my mouth and getting in my food,'' he said.

From the time he left high school to the time he made his first tackle as a starting linebacker for the Chiefs, Maslowski would not change a thing.

``The path I had to take made me the person I am, and the player I am because of the hard times I had to go through and the effort I had to put forth,'' he said. ``To be given to me, I don't know how I would react to that. This way, I earned it, and I had to work my rear off to get here, and every step I took made it more satisfying.''