Grant here.
This is a follow-up to my last blog, in which I wondered why the 49ers ignored Alex Smith in their State of the Team pep rally.
Zohn reader Stan points out Tim Kawakami gives a theory why in his column today.
Tim basically argues that not talking about Alex Smith means the 49ers are confident in him and the state of their team.
I respect Tim Kawakami. He’s a great columnist and a friend of my dad’s. But, with all due respect, I disagree with his take. Singletary gushed about his favorite player, Patrick Willis and about Dashon Goldson and Vernon Davis. He didn’t even mention Smith on his own. If Joe Montana or Steve Young or Jeff Garcia played quarterback for him you can be sure he would have mentioned their names before the 89th minute of the pep rally. Forget mention. Singletary would have bragged about any of them. If the Niners were confident in Smith, really confident in the way you’re supposed to be confident in your quarterback, they would have mentioned him. They’re presenting him as just another guy, as if he’s merely one of the starting 22 – and he’s more than that. He better be.
A team should not ignore its quarterback. Everyone knows unless you have a defense which is one of the best of all-time, which the 49ers do not, you need a quarterback who can win a game on his own. Apparently, the Niners don’t think they have one of those. That’s a problem.
Don’t agree that the 49ers are de-emphasizing Smith? Please open your minds and allow me to further illustrate my point. The 49ers have a new season-ticket commercial, maybe you’ve seen it. It’s black and white and there’s lots of slow motion. There’s a football field and players. There’s a voice talking about the upcoming football season. The voice says players are getting bigger and faster. The film cuts to Frank Gore, and he’s in color, wearing the red and gold 49ers jersey. He dazzles the screen. His helmet is off and it’s clear the 49ers are proud of him, putting him at the beginning of their season ticket commercial all by himself. Here’s a player the 49ers believe in.
Then the commercial cuts to, in order, Michael Crabtree, Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, the cheerleaders, Mike Singletary, Eric Heitmann, and Justin Smith. No Alex Smith. It’s as if he doesn’t exist.
The next part of the commercial I find scandalous, you may disagree. It cuts to a fan in the stands wearing an old, white Smith jersey, and the voice-over says, “Fans demand so much and forgive so little.”
This is interesting for three reasons. First, Smith doesn’t even get to be in the commercial all by himself. He’s represented by a fan. Second, his jersey is different from all the other jerseys, it’s drab and outdated as opposed to new and vibrant, which visually sets him apart from the rest of the team. Third, the voice over’s statement, which on its own is an innocuous truism, seems like a jab at Alex Smith. Smith needs the fans’ forgiveness for losing so much in the past and perhaps not being able to win in the future.
Clearly the 49ers are trying to make a distinction. This is the beginning of a new era of winning. The players in Technicolor brilliance represent this new era, and Alex Smith represents the old era. Smith needs to cross over for the team to make the playoffs this year. If he doesn’t, they don’t and he’s out. Can he? Even the Niners don’t seem to know.
