{"id":32999,"date":"2022-08-19T20:13:34","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T20:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/articles.runyourpool.com\/?p=32999"},"modified":"2022-08-19T20:22:58","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T20:22:58","slug":"potential-comeback-players-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.runyourpool.com\/articles\/2022\/08\/19\/potential-comeback-players-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential Comeback Players of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everybody Loves A Long Shot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve talked a lot<\/a> about narratives already this preseason. You know, those stories that fill up 8-hour pregame shows on Sundays, turn the endless grist mill that is the NFL hype machine, and end up making the best memes throughout a long 17-game season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest stories, which never fails to moisten every eye it touches, is the epic of the Comeback Player of the Year. Each and every season, at least one player turns in a magical yarn, and we eat it up like surf n\u2019 turf at a casino buffet. Not to say the award is meaningless; some of the stories are legitimately stranger and more emotionally wrought than any Pixar script could hope to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember Alex Smith? Of course you do. At least you remember his leg.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(AP Photo\/Mark Tenally)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In any event, that quarterback, on that leg, did the seemingly impossible and played again IN THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. It\u2019s simply absurd, and a true testament to the power of what a person (and millions of dollars, and the best medical care, and nothing but free time, and did I mention millions and millions of dollars) can overcome when pursuing their dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Alex Smith absolutely was deserving of CPoY. Almost every other winner<\/a> since the modern award began (1998, for those keeping score at home), though, checks off just a few simple boxes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n