Alex Smith will be sorely missed in the Bay Area..Man of the Year

[qtlaw]

If Smith is not NFL Man of the Year very soon, something is wrong. He's put at least 30 foster kids through college, all expenses paid, with 23 graduating.

Great story about Smith putting his money where his mouth is:

http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2013/03/12/alex-smith-gave-his-all-off-the-field-too/

You know if the Tiger Woods Foundation lived up to this standard, there would be probably thousands of kids who graduated; yet....what do they do again? Heck, for all the athletes' foundations we hear about, if only they followed this path. As someone in the article writes, Smith is not just the foundation and golf tournament guy.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

They still should have drafted Aaron Rodgers. :D

 

[qtlaw]

Wow, are people so jaded that this hardly causes a ripple? Or is it that people already believe that most athletic foundations do these things? I had become so skeptical that I found Alex Smith's deeds quite an inspiration.

 

[YGBFKM]

That's pretty damn impressive. Now don't you feel bad for wanting Kaepernick to start? :)

 

[Riptide]

A heroic job by Smith. The story just kept getting more and more impressive.

 

[Versatile]

Wow, are people so jaded that this hardly causes a ripple? Or is it that people already believe that most athletic foundations do these things? I had become so skeptical that I found Alex Smith's deeds quite an inspiration.

Your subject line sucked. Stop blaming us.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

There was a basketball player who did something similar... I can't remember who it was...

 

[LongTimeListener]

I am sure Alex still seethes in private about the way this year went, and I know people were down on him as a quarterback even the last couple of years when they were winning, but the guy has been class all the way in a situation that has been very difficult since 2005. As much as we can know any of these guys, he is one worth rooting for.

 

[qtlaw]

Yes I admit I wanted Kaep in, based solely on football talent. But seeing how Smith handled the demotion and the 8 yrs of adversity combined with his off-field generosity? I'm definitely rooting for him in KC, nearly as much as I rooted for Joe in KC.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I think without question, he handled his "demotion" with incredible class. He was drafted into an impossible situation. For a decade-long stretch up until very recently, the 49ers were one of the most poorly run franchises in the NFL.

I think people overlook that because of how rich the 49ers history is and how quickly Harbaugh and Baalke have turned them around.

I am definitely rooting for him to do well in KC.

 

[SoCalScribe]

Good for him. Always nice to read about the good guys.

 

[Tarheel316]

I'm glad for him. Alex Smith is one of the guys. Handled his demotion with class. Most players get demoted for poor performance. That wasn't the case with Alex, who never stopped being a pro. I hope he does well in KC.

 

[Pancamo]

I like how he kept this underwraps and was quiet about what he was doing, unlike another QB who seems to have a daily photo shoot showing that he is charitable.