When Colin
Kaepernick defeated Green Bay with his arm and legs last Saturday, there was a
huge sense of school pride that I felt after the game. I went to the University
of Nevada Reno. I was there to witness Colin Kaepernick play for the Nevada
Wolf Pack football team during his first two seasons as quarterback. It would
my last two years at the school. When I graduated, I would continue to follow
Kaepernick closely especially his senior season, when he gave Nevada its best
season in school history. Every time I watched Kaepernick, I felt school pride
because he was making Nevada football entertaining and many times he helped the
team win. I would never forget watching his last game in person at AT&T
Park when he and the Wolf Pack beat Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger
Bowl.
I would never forget saying to my
dad after Kaepernick’s last college game about how great it would be if the
49ers drafted him. I was a Wolf Pack fan and a 49ers fan. I enjoyed cheering on
Kaepernick while I was in college and so I liked the thought of continuing to
cheer him on while with the 49ers, the team I grew up rooting for. It would have been weird for me having to
cheer against him if he had played for another team. As fate would have it, Kaepernick would get
drafted by the 49ers and I was excited.
I knew Kaepernick would not be the
49ers starting quarterback right away but I knew that once he was given a
chance, no matter how briefly the opportunity was, he would make the most of
his opportunity. That’s what happened at Nevada. Kaepernick was not the
starting quarterback at the beginning of his freshmen season at Nevada. It was
not until mid season his freshmen year when Nevada’s starter got injured that
Kaepernick got the chance to start. He made the most of his opportunity and
never looked back. He would do so well filling in as starting quarterback that
even when the other quarterback came back from injury, Kaepernick would never
give up the starting job. I predicted
the same thing would happen in the NFL with the 49ers. I said to people that if
an injury happened to Alex Smith, that Kaepernick was going to fill in and do so
great that he would remain the starting quarterback. Well, my predictions were
right. Kaepernick filled in for Alex Smith and he never looked back. While I am happy for the way Kaepernick has
played, I would be lying if I say I was surprised. Not after what I saw him do in college. I
knew he would have success before most people did.
Now Kaepernick is getting ready for
the NFC Championship game against the Atlanta Falcons. Not only will I be rooting for Kaepernick as a
49er fan but I will be cheering for him as a fellow Wolf Pack student from the University
of Nevada. Not only does Kaepernick
succeeding help my 49ers, its helps the Wolf Pack get name recognition around
the country. It’s the best of both worlds for me.
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