What is True Grit, and no I am
not talking about the movie or book? I am talking about the people in real life
situations who can actually keep an unshaken fortitude. By definition to be True is to be loyal and steadfast. And
to possess Grit is to possess a firmness of mind or spirit :
unyielding courage in the face of hardship or danger. Aside the many war
stories I hear and read about. The only person I have ever seen in my lifetime
putting his fortitude to the test is the unyielding Alexander Douglas Smith.
“It's not
whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.”- Lombardi
Alex Smith has been the punching bag
of not only NFL analyst, but my friends and family as well, for the past six
years. To hear people say he is/was a bust year in and year out was very hard
yet I could never give up the faith, that is just not how I am built, I don't
give up or give in. I played the quarterback position before as well as
linebacker and secondary even a little receiver. And I played in Texas under
the Friday night lights. My father being a coach at my school, the expectations
people had for myself was more than I could imagine.
Now if you multiply that by a
hundred that is probably closer to the hardship that Alex has put up with in
the bay area.
There is a reason every Head coached
believed in Alex Smith. There is a reason why the “Mad Scientist” believes him,
and it is that same reason that this 2011 team believes in him. Alex Smith is TRUE
GRIT. That is right I said it. Alex has been put under the microscope,
has be torn down by the NFL and fans alike. He has be given up on and cast
aside. The man has been booed at Monster Park by his own home fans and still he
keeps tact and poise. {Vince Young got booed and had a hard time
getting back on the horse. It is going to take a change of scenery to get back
on top for Young. (Eagles)… again stole that from my brother.} Yet with
Alex he didn’t change his scenery because of his love for this team and his
loyalty, and because of his unyielding courage in the face of the booing fans
should be enough of a testament to all you haters. I mean the guy even took a
pay cut to stay with the team and didn't flinch when he was benched. You can't
get more humbled than that.
Year after year I have always said
wait till he gets a coach who is quarterback oriented and watch him grow. Well
Harbaugh is that coach, as with supporting co-star in Greg Roman, Alex will
just keep getting better.
You don’t wake up one day and say I
am going to be a great quarterback. You just rise to the occasion when needed
to prove to the world that you are what you were meant to be. I know Alex will
keep winning, not just because of the awesome coaching this year but because
Alex Smith is made up of True Grit.
