Branden Albert's Huge Balls
12-22-2008, 12:04 AM
I want to puke.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/947620.html
Carl Peterson read a statistics sheet and chuckled to himself. He was sitting on a table after the Chiefs’ loss Sunday, their 38-31 home finale played in a cruel chill.
Peterson sat alone, the same way he does after most home games, and whispered to himself. He raised his eyebrows and nodded when Chiefs coach Herm Edwards discussed the precision of Miami quarterback Chad Pennington. Peterson mouthed, “Wow,” at a particular number on that sheet. Then he raised his eyes and looked toward Edwards to follow the coach’s summation of Peterson’s final home game as Chiefs president, general manager and chief executive.
There have been 20 years of games, some better and more satisfying than the one Peterson watched from his executive box Sunday. He was surrounded by trusted coworkers and family, a handful of confidantes at the center of a stadium looking toward life after Peterson.
“It’s bittersweet,” longtime public-relations man Bob Moore said. “He created so much of this thing in the last 20 years. That’s why it’s such a big deal.” :Lin:
Peterson would not answer questions for this story, but friends and coworkers say he did his best this week to keep things the way they always had been. He stuck to a routine that carried him through two decades. One friend said Sunday that Peterson left his condo on the Country Club Plaza around 8 a.m. and arrived at Arrowhead a half-hour later. His daughter and her family were in town from their home in Scotland, but other than that, Peterson tried to keep things as normal as possible — six days after team chairman Clark Hunt announced Peterson would resign after the Chiefs’ final game.
He didn’t divert from a regularly scheduled stroll through the Arrowhead parking lot. Later, he kept calling Moore in the Chiefs’ press box to check ball spots and confirm statistics. He maintained the same emotion that makes watching a Chiefs game near Peterson an experience filled with passion and perfectionism.
Peterson tried to keep this season normal, even when it was anything but. A few weeks ago, he called his old friend Floyd Reese, the former general manager at Tennessee. Reese said they talked about Tyler Thigpen and what waits in the Chiefs’ future; it was the same kind of conversation Reese could have recalled from a dozen other times. They talked football and not Peterson’s future, something Reese says now that he could have guessed was weighing on Peterson’s mind.
“You don’t go through tough seasons with it not taking a toll,” Reese said. “His entire adult life has been football.”
Sources said Sunday that Peterson’s departure didn’t come as a surprise to a man who’s run the gamut in Kansas City as hero and villain. He’s known for months that this would be his final season, and a friend said Sunday that Peterson walked the halls this season joking to some that he would soon be riding off into the sunset.
But as the season progressed, Peterson found himself more and more alone. His popularity hit an all-time low, sure, but employees at Arrowhead were moving into the team’s new practice facility. The marketing and ticket offices were among the last to be emptied two weeks ago, and the halls remained silent as the Chiefs moved into a new building a few blocks to the stadium’s west.
Peterson’s office at Arrowhead was one of two that remained occupied Sunday. Denny Thum is the longtime employee who was appointed interim president this week, and his and Peterson’s offices have yet to be deserted. Peterson, though, hadn’t even begun packing his things. He decorated his office with trinkets and mementos, trophies and photographs with U.S. presidents that Peterson was not ready to put away.
“That’s probably what he was considering all along; he probably wasn’t going to go down there,” one team employee said. “When he didn’t come down, I figured he wasn’t going to come back.”
Peterson has to remove his things this week. :loser:
Those offices have to be emptied so a construction crew can move in. The organization is moving toward a new era, and Peterson represents the past.
“It’s sort of symbolic,” the employee says.
The legend is that Peterson arrived in Kansas City in 1989, guaranteeing a Super Bowl championship within five years. It was a far-fetched notion for a team that couldn’t attract fans in the 1980s and was little more than an NFL laughingstock.
The Chiefs had success under Peterson, and he gave life to a stadium atmosphere envied in other NFL cities. But Peterson never reached the Super Bowl, and friends say Peterson didn’t talk much about that. The Chiefs reached the AFC title game after the 1993 season, but since then there have been more disappointments than celebrations. Peterson looked out from that box Sunday and saw a half-empty stadium and a losing team, a product that more closely resembled the one he found instead of the one he hoped to leave.
“For whatever reason,” former Chiefs quarterback Rich Gannon said, “it just hasn’t turned out.” :rolleyes:
Team sources have said that Peterson kept trying to chase that Super Bowl, even when others knew it was impossible. He goaded Edwards this season into signing veterans and chasing one last playoff appearance, one last chance for the old GM to ride off into the sunset the way he always hoped.
A few moments after the Chiefs lost Sunday, Peterson boarded a crowded elevator and headed for the last time toward the home locker room. There was something different about the man known for his intensity, shrewd nature and coldness. On this day, he smiled and introduced friends and a former challenger to his family, saying something about how good the years have been.
“There are a lot of memories he’ll have to pack up,” Moore said.
Peterson looked more relaxed than usual Sunday. Maybe it was because he was surrounded by family. Or maybe he was relieved his long and chaotic ride was over. He was still smiling when he kissed his daughter, a moment before the elevator door closed with Carl Peterson on the other side.
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/chiefs/story/947620.html
Carl Peterson read a statistics sheet and chuckled to himself. He was sitting on a table after the Chiefs’ loss Sunday, their 38-31 home finale played in a cruel chill.
Peterson sat alone, the same way he does after most home games, and whispered to himself. He raised his eyebrows and nodded when Chiefs coach Herm Edwards discussed the precision of Miami quarterback Chad Pennington. Peterson mouthed, “Wow,” at a particular number on that sheet. Then he raised his eyes and looked toward Edwards to follow the coach’s summation of Peterson’s final home game as Chiefs president, general manager and chief executive.
There have been 20 years of games, some better and more satisfying than the one Peterson watched from his executive box Sunday. He was surrounded by trusted coworkers and family, a handful of confidantes at the center of a stadium looking toward life after Peterson.
“It’s bittersweet,” longtime public-relations man Bob Moore said. “He created so much of this thing in the last 20 years. That’s why it’s such a big deal.” :Lin:
Peterson would not answer questions for this story, but friends and coworkers say he did his best this week to keep things the way they always had been. He stuck to a routine that carried him through two decades. One friend said Sunday that Peterson left his condo on the Country Club Plaza around 8 a.m. and arrived at Arrowhead a half-hour later. His daughter and her family were in town from their home in Scotland, but other than that, Peterson tried to keep things as normal as possible — six days after team chairman Clark Hunt announced Peterson would resign after the Chiefs’ final game.
He didn’t divert from a regularly scheduled stroll through the Arrowhead parking lot. Later, he kept calling Moore in the Chiefs’ press box to check ball spots and confirm statistics. He maintained the same emotion that makes watching a Chiefs game near Peterson an experience filled with passion and perfectionism.
Peterson tried to keep this season normal, even when it was anything but. A few weeks ago, he called his old friend Floyd Reese, the former general manager at Tennessee. Reese said they talked about Tyler Thigpen and what waits in the Chiefs’ future; it was the same kind of conversation Reese could have recalled from a dozen other times. They talked football and not Peterson’s future, something Reese says now that he could have guessed was weighing on Peterson’s mind.
“You don’t go through tough seasons with it not taking a toll,” Reese said. “His entire adult life has been football.”
Sources said Sunday that Peterson’s departure didn’t come as a surprise to a man who’s run the gamut in Kansas City as hero and villain. He’s known for months that this would be his final season, and a friend said Sunday that Peterson walked the halls this season joking to some that he would soon be riding off into the sunset.
But as the season progressed, Peterson found himself more and more alone. His popularity hit an all-time low, sure, but employees at Arrowhead were moving into the team’s new practice facility. The marketing and ticket offices were among the last to be emptied two weeks ago, and the halls remained silent as the Chiefs moved into a new building a few blocks to the stadium’s west.
Peterson’s office at Arrowhead was one of two that remained occupied Sunday. Denny Thum is the longtime employee who was appointed interim president this week, and his and Peterson’s offices have yet to be deserted. Peterson, though, hadn’t even begun packing his things. He decorated his office with trinkets and mementos, trophies and photographs with U.S. presidents that Peterson was not ready to put away.
“That’s probably what he was considering all along; he probably wasn’t going to go down there,” one team employee said. “When he didn’t come down, I figured he wasn’t going to come back.”
Peterson has to remove his things this week. :loser:
Those offices have to be emptied so a construction crew can move in. The organization is moving toward a new era, and Peterson represents the past.
“It’s sort of symbolic,” the employee says.
The legend is that Peterson arrived in Kansas City in 1989, guaranteeing a Super Bowl championship within five years. It was a far-fetched notion for a team that couldn’t attract fans in the 1980s and was little more than an NFL laughingstock.
The Chiefs had success under Peterson, and he gave life to a stadium atmosphere envied in other NFL cities. But Peterson never reached the Super Bowl, and friends say Peterson didn’t talk much about that. The Chiefs reached the AFC title game after the 1993 season, but since then there have been more disappointments than celebrations. Peterson looked out from that box Sunday and saw a half-empty stadium and a losing team, a product that more closely resembled the one he found instead of the one he hoped to leave.
“For whatever reason,” former Chiefs quarterback Rich Gannon said, “it just hasn’t turned out.” :rolleyes:
Team sources have said that Peterson kept trying to chase that Super Bowl, even when others knew it was impossible. He goaded Edwards this season into signing veterans and chasing one last playoff appearance, one last chance for the old GM to ride off into the sunset the way he always hoped.
A few moments after the Chiefs lost Sunday, Peterson boarded a crowded elevator and headed for the last time toward the home locker room. There was something different about the man known for his intensity, shrewd nature and coldness. On this day, he smiled and introduced friends and a former challenger to his family, saying something about how good the years have been.
“There are a lot of memories he’ll have to pack up,” Moore said.
Peterson looked more relaxed than usual Sunday. Maybe it was because he was surrounded by family. Or maybe he was relieved his long and chaotic ride was over. He was still smiling when he kissed his daughter, a moment before the elevator door closed with Carl Peterson on the other side.