Having been a 49er fan my whole life, it is great to see their return to glory. The past few years have been rough and alot of that was due to Alex Smith. We Niner fans have been spoiled by the likes of great QB's like Joe Montana and Steve Young.
Smith came in highly touted but never really delivered what the fans wanted. Last season he stepped up and led the Niners to a divisional title and a berth in the NFC Championship.
Impressive, but not quite enough to win over the volatile previous 7 seasons of mediocrity.
He was in the midst of another good season when in Game 9 vs the Rams he suffered a concussion and was replaced by Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick seized his opportunity and never looked back.
Niners fans are happy again and we are headed back to the Super Bowl. But where has Alex been throughout this run to the Bowl?
Some analyst such as Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman have criticized him for his relative silence. For the first couple of games the television coverage would show Alex on sidelines repeatedly after a Kapernick big play. Thankfully that has stopped and I don't believe I saw him one time during the Falcons NFC championship game.
To Smith's credit he has been gracious and respectful. He understands the game and the team concept. His grumbling would only incite unjust and controversy, causing distractions. Instead he has said nothing.
When asked, he will say of course he wants to play but that's not what is best for the team now and when called upon he will be ready to go. Smith still has a significant role on this team and his contributions early in the season helped them get to this point.
He earned his starting spot at University of Utah the same way he lost his spot with 49ers. An injury to the starter gave Smith an opportunity which he capitalized on and never relinquished the starting job. He is now on other side of the fence so he gets its, football is about the team not the individual.
As one of the fans who was not a Alex Smith supporters over the years, I now have great respect for an athlete with character and class. He deserves that Super Bowl ring as much as anybody. Go get it Alex!!!
