49ers brotherhood, community shines at Dwight Clark Legacy Series originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN JOSE — You’d be hard-pressed to find many organizations across all of professional sports with a richer history and stronger community than the 49ers.
The film was shown again in full on Thursday evening at the annual Dwight Clark Legacy Series event at the California Theater in San Jose.
Players past and present showed up to support a great cause and raise money for the Golden Heart Fund, including Pro Football Hall of Fame alumni and current 49ers superstars.
Here are three observations from the fourth annual event:
The inseparable LB duo
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw was the recipient of the Dwight Clark Award, which “honors the current 49ers player who best exemplifies Dwight’s spirit of teamwork and camaraderie.”
Before Greenlaw took the stage, he was introduced by fellow 49ers linebacker and close friend Fred Warner. The duo has become one of, if not the best linebacking tandem in the NFL, thanks in part to their inseparable bond on and off the field.
Warner and Greenlaw are the best of friends and train together every offseason. This summer, however, will be different. Greenlaw is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon and is expected to enter the 2024 NFL season on the physically unable to perform list.
However, there is little doubt that Greenlaw will not attack his rehab with the same tenacity and vigor that Warner has become accustomed to.
“On the court he’s a little crazy … that’s what makes him so great, there’s something strange about him,” Warner said of Greenlaw to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Laura Britt.
Generations of QBs with different paths
The final hour of the event featured a panel of four 49ers quarterbacks spanning four different generations, each with their own unique place in franchise history.
From left to right, Brock Purdy, Alex Smith, Jeff Garcia and Steve Young sat on stage with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. The last pick of the 2022 NFL draft sat next to the very first pick of the 2005 draft, which sat next to an undrafted Canadian Football League player, who sat next to the first overall pick of the 1984 supplemental draft.
Purdy and Smith sitting next to each other made for a particularly interesting juxtaposition. One had absolutely no expectations heading into his rookie season, while the other admittedly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders from the start.
Each quarterback shared interesting stories from their respective careers, highlighting how difficult it is to play in the NFL and how much hard work, dedication and perseverance it takes to overcome all obstacles as a first-round, seventh-round or a totally undrafted player.
49ers alumni always show up
It’s impossible to attend a 49ers event without at least a handful of prominent players – past or present – representing the organization.
Whether it’s the Dwight Clark Legacy Series and State of the Franchise events, one of the other charity events, or maybe just a game day or practice at Levi’s Stadium, 49ers alumni like Young, Garcia, Smith, Jerry Rice, Patrick Willis, Frank Gore, Joe Staley, Bryant Young, Terrell Ownes, Ronnie Lott, Brent Jones and Jesse Sapolu – just to name a few – are regularly seen with the team in some capacity.
That’s a testament not only to the culture the 49ers organization has created over decades of excellence, but also to the players’ unwavering support for the team and the community.
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