An Ode to Alex

I was in the middle of something at work on Sunday. Thankfully, work for me is a sports bar. I had four different tv's in front of me with four different games and an entirely separate game coming through the speakers. Luckily, the game I was hearing was the Los Angeles Rams against the Washington Football Team.

Prior to Sunday, I had heard the news that Dwayne Haskins had been moved to the third spot on the quarterback depth chart for the WFT, moving Kyle Allen into the starting spot and Alex Smith into the the backup role. I was elated for Alex. Not only did he make a roster this season, but he was in the backup position. He was already doing things that at one point I am sure seemed out of reach.

Let's take it back a decade or so to where Alex got his start. Alex grew up on the West Coast and attended the University of Utah, where he was the starting quarterback. He had an illustrious college football career, being named the Mountain West Conference player of the year in 2004 followed by a Fiesta Bowl win against Pittsburgh in 2005.

Alex was the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers and the beginning of his career was rough. In his first six years with the team, he had a different offensive coordinator each season while also battling a shoulder separation injury, among others. It wasn't until Jim Harbaugh was named the head coach that Alex finally had some consistency and got his game going, leading the 49ers to an NFC West championship and an NFC title game; the team's first since 1997.

The following year, all it took was a midseason concussion for Colin Kaepernick to prove his worth and for Alex to be riding his coattails. Fortunately for Alex, the following year he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he started his tenure with a 9-0 start and their first playoff appearance in three years. After a great half decade with the Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes entered the chat and Alex was sent to the Washington Football Team (formerly the Washington Redskins).

And that was when it happened.

I will never forget watching his leg injury play out on live television. In his first season with Washington, Alex suffered a life altering injury against the Houston Texans; a compound fracture to his right leg. It was an injury so gruesome that it was shown on tv only once. His leg looked like Gumby, bent the entirely wrong way. I was heartbroken.

In the following days, it really became clear how severe the injury really was. Alex Smith's wife Elizabeth relayed what she was told by doctors in the days following his injury to reporter Stephania Bell:

"Our first priority is we're going to save his life. And then we're going to do our best to save his leg. And anything beyond that is a miracle."

What?! He broke his leg! He will be fine! It wasn't that bad!

That is what everyone thought, but the reality was that Alex was fighting for life and limb, literally. He was battling an infection, flesh eating bacteria, and sepsis. The months that followed were comprised of 17 surgeries and physical therapy and rehab at a world class military facility that he had to receive special clearance and approval to visit. Why? Because Alex's injury was compared to that of a soldier injured in battle: "warlike".

Keep in mind, this all happened in November of 2018.

Fast forward to August of 2020: Alex Smith is cleared to play football.

What seemed like something that was unattainable for him, he finally achieved. Alex had vowed that he would return to the field. So one would think that being cleared and making the 52 man roster would be enough.

Yeah, right.

On Sunday when I heard "ohhhh wow Kyle Allen goes down hard. It looks like an arm injury of some sort....Alex Smith is warming up on the sideline. We will see him in action as soon as we return from these commercials".... I don't think I could have gotten to a TV faster. Standing in front of the closest monitor as he jogged out to the field, I was clicking my pen obsessively, feeling my phone vibrate with a dozen texts...

"Are you seeing this?"

"Your boy is about to play!"

"Alex Smith is ON THE FIELD"

I think it was one of the most inspiring things I have ever seen. A truly incredible act of determination, willpower, and strength. What drove Alex to put himself in this situation, pushing a return so quickly?

Someone MUST be cutting onions in here.

So this is An Ode to Alex:

You are a hero. To me. To kids. To YOUR kids. To your peers. To the future of the game. Your story of perseverance is one for the history books.

Cheers to (the guys who HAS to be) The Comeback Player of the Century.