Kansas City Chiefs: Candidates For Postseason Awards
By Ben Almquist
Alex Smith: Walter Payton Man Of The Year
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith is up for one of the most underrated awards of the year. The Walter Payton Man Of The Year award is about how a player contributes off the field. In many ways, I feel this is one of the most important awards in all of sports. If history tells us anything, it’s that the Chiefs organization agrees.
Alex Smith’s work with foster children may help him join the ranks of Brian Waters, Will Shields, Derrick Thomas, Len Dawson, and Willie Lanier as Chiefs players to win the award. The Alex Smith Foundation is built on helping foster teens transition into successful adults. That’s a very notable cause for an oft-forgotten group of children.
Smith has just as good a chance of winning this award as anyone. With the Chiefs history regarding the award, it is likely that a number of voters will look favorably on him. At the end of the day though, the award doesn’t matter nearly as much as the work being done. Regardless of whether or not he gets a trophy for it, Alex Smith definitely gets a win just for being nominated.
Will He Win It?: The odds are against him just because there are 31 other candidates. It’s a worthy cause, but you never know how voters look at things like this.