Falcons fans raise funds to ‘pay' Smith's fine

By Marcus K. Garner

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Don’t worry, coach.

Falcons Nation has your back.

“Just like you got our team’s back,” said longtime Falcons fan Tandy Garay.

When Falcons coach Mike Smith flew to quarterback Matt Ryan’s defense after a hit out of bounds in Sunday’s game against the Washington Redskins, it further endeared the fan base to the second-year coach.

So now that Smith faces a $15,000 from the NFL for his actions, fans are flying to his aid.

“We are officially collecting donations for Coach Mike Smith in honor of his impending fine from the NFL,” wrote Hal Moore, an administrator on the fans message board at atlantafalcons.com.

“In the spirit of helping the coach ‘pay his fine,’ we are collecting funds to support the charity of Smith’s choosing.”

And to add a sly little back-handed swipe at a certain former Falcons cornerback who also was involved in Sunday’s sideline melee and wears the number 23 on his Redskins jersey, the goal is $2,300 and fans are asked to contribute an extra 23 cents to every donation.

Take that MeAngelo!

The effort began Thursday and had surpassed it goal with almost $2,400 in donations Friday night. The money has come from donation pledges and bids for items being sold on eBay.

Since the NFL won’t let fans pay a coach’s or player’s fines for him, the group is donating the proceeds to the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation.

Moore, who was born in the year of the Falcons’ first season, in 1966, said the plan came together as a bit of a joke.

"What can we do to stand up for the coach, since he was standing up for the team?" Moore said on Friday, recalling the origins of this movement. "People started making pledges."

Mark Tucker said people contributing appreciate giving to a worthy cause, especially in Smith's name.

And Tucker said although fans resonate with Smith for more than just the coach's recent sideline daring do, the show of gumption didn't hurt.

"He's going to do something we've never seen before," Tucker said. "There's a Super Bowl in our near future. And seeing Coach Smith get riled up to protect his franchise player ... we just want to send a statement."

Smith, for his part, reiterated on Thursday that "I will always have my players' back," but said he wanted to past the incident.

Garay, who lives in Rebecca in south Georgia and made the first official pledge -- $40.23 -- cautioned not to perceive this gesture as "raising money for a millionaire."

"It's not about that," she said. "We've got people contributing $1.23 because they've been out of work, but they feel that strongly about this."

After the fund-raising drive the original artwork and other items will continue being bid upon on eBay through next week, potentially raising another $500 dollars, Moore estimated.

Garay just hopes the message is felt.

"We know [the money] is not going to him and he can't even really acknowledge it," she said. "But we're saying, we got your back, coach."

-- Staff writer D. Orlando Ledbetter contributed to this story.