Man, was I moved by this ESPN documentary-style piece on Alex Smith. I had no idea how close he came to losing his leg and how a flesh-eating bacteria almost took his life.
I remember how excited I was for the 2018 season with Alex Smith as our starting Quarterback, and how well the team was playing with him during the first half of the season; The Redskins were on top of their division — The team seemed to be flowing well, and on their way to make a playoff run….. things looked extremely promising.
Then, Alex Smith suffered what appeared to be a career-ending injury, eerily similar to Joe Theismann’s career-ending leg injury back in 1985, which occurred on the same date as Smith’s injury (November 18).
From that point on, everything fell apart for the 2018 Washington Redskins football team. However, most importantly than football, it almost ended the life of Alex Smith.
It was an incredibly revelatory experience watching this Project 11 piece. Learning how Smith’s unique predicament took the doctors by complete surprise. How unfamiliar they were with this infection, plus there wasn’t anyone with a similar experience that they could use as a reference point to lean into, especially an infection like this within the sports world.
Watching him in the hospital fighting for his life. How incoherent he seemed after the infection took over. The gruesome images of his leg, and then, 17 surgeries later attempting to reclaim his life. It was such a catastrophic ordeal for him and his family.
His recovery has been remarkable, to say the least.
I was always an Alex Smith fan, and after watching this documentary piece, it is beyond evident that we should not count him out, and we definitely have not heard the last from him.
I am rooting like hell for Alex Smith.
Rod Rioja 