Cade Foster got death threats last week, but this week he received a handwritten letter from George W. Bush telling him to keep his head up.
It’s been a roller coaster couple of weeks for the Alabama kicker. After shanking three field goals in the Iron Bowl against Auburn and ultimately being pulled from the game, he received death threats from angry Crimson Tide fans who blamed him for the team’s loss.
Some fans went so far as to send death threats to Foster, whose replacement missed a kick at the end of regulation that was returned 109 yards for the winning touchdown. Though his Twitter page filled up with angry messages, Cade Foster’s teammates rose to defend him.
Now former President George W. Bush is among the supporters. On Wednesday, Foster tweeted a picture of the letter Bush sent him on December 3 that encouraged him to move on from the difficult patch.
The letter read, “Dear Cade (#43), Life has its setbacks. I know! However, you will be a stronger human with time. I wish you all the best.”
In his salutation, Bush also noted that he and Cade Foster shared a number in common
“Sincerely — another 43” wrote the 43rd President of the United States.
Dear Cade (#43), life has it’s setbacks. I know! However, you will be stronger with time..Sincerely- George Bush pic.twitter.com/jesykfKpDx
— Cade Foster (@Foster_43) December 11, 2013
Cade already has the support of his team, many of whom tweeted encouraging messages to him after the stinging loss to Auburn. Quarterback AJ McCarron also spoke to Foster after the game, telling him to hold his head high.
“Cade’s a great kid,” McCarron said. “It wasn’t all his fault. Other people struggled. I love him to death and I have all the confidence in him in the world that he could go out there right now and make the kicks. The one thing about him is he needs to keep his head high and be proud.
“Like I said, football is just a game. It’s not life. Times like this people need to realize the sun’s going to rise tomorrow.”
Though the support of his teammates was helpful, Cade Foster was clearly quite proud of the letter from George W. Bush. He tweeted a message with a picture of the letter and the words “framing this.”
