Sam Mellinger Nails It!
 

Sam Mellinger | Chiefs’ disconnect with angry fan base grows deeper
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star



The elevator door opens, and here comes Clark Hunt. He is dressed in a dark suit, like always, solemn look on his face as he walks through a basement hallway at Arrowhead Stadium. Over his head, a television plays the final seconds of another remarkably inept showing by the team he inherited from his father and that is now embarrassing the family name.

“The Chiefs lose again,” the voice on the television says.

Hunt doesn’t look up. Doesn’t speak. Just keeps walking, into the locker room of the undisputed worst team in football. The door shuts behind him. A security guard in the hallway turns the TV off, and it’s just as well because the Chiefs’ pathetic 28-6 loss to the mediocre Bengals is finally over. By now, we’ve all seen enough from a 1-9 clown show.

The only things left are shame, ugly accusations about mistreatment from fans, and questions.

If not now, then when? If the Chiefs can land like an anvil at the bottom of the NFL in year four of a process that was supposed to be competing for the division championship, then what, exactly, could it possibly take for major changes?

If not after this, then what?

“I’m not feeling very good at this point,” coach Romeo Crennel says.

Some perspective: Bill Self’s winning percentage at Kansas is .835. Nick Saban’s at Alabama is .831, Tom Brady’s in New England is .774, and Michael Jordan’s in playoff series is .806.

Opponents at Arrowhead Stadium since last November are at .889.

Arrowhead used to be one of the toughest places in the NFL to play. Television executives loved having games here, the barbecue smoke in the parking lot and screaming fans inside making for some of the league’s best theater.

Now, fans are literally dressing for a funeral – an organized statement to wear black in mourning of the franchise they fell in love with.

Chiefs officials – Hunt, most notably – have done a rotten job of showing it, but they’ve been privately concerned about a growing fan resentment for some time now. Hunt continues to meet with angry fans, partly to gather information to help diagnose the problem.

Until now, team brass held a stubborn belief that the loudest dissent came from a vocal minority, but in a season full of milestone losses, here comes one more: Arrowhead evenly split between fans dressed in black, fans dressed in other colors and empty seats.

If this doesn’t push Hunt to make major changes in the coming weeks, then it’s fair to wonder what could.

A handful of fans are accusing the team of confiscating critical signs or kicking them out of the stadium. A team spokesman made a point to “vehemently” deny security guards had orders to remove critical fans, saying the only issues were mass distribution of flyers impeding pregame traffic.

Either way, it’s one more piece of evidence of an undeniable and enormous disconnect between team and town. A family paid for an obituary in Sunday’s Star for a man who died “of complications from MS and heartbreaking disappointment caused by the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Two fans write in to say they saw “Pioli doesn’t” taped underneath “Kansas City knows” on a t-shirt for sale in a store. Fans are wearing black, or paper bags, or both. One section passed time during the game with a paper airplane contest.

And those are the ones who still bother to show up for games.

Here is an incomplete list of things to happen more often this fall than the Chiefs winning:

The team captain being benched, the quarterback suffering a concussion, a banner flying over the stadium calling for the GM to be fired, the head coach saying he doesn’t understand what happened with the team, and players celebrating a touchdown that didn’t count.

So far, you are as likely to catch the Chiefs on a day their coach fires himself as defensive coordinator as you are a day they win a game of football. One of their two biggest free-agent acquisitions called fans “sickening and disgusting.” The other one got cut a few weeks back.

Their offense has managed 12 touchdowns, 20 field goals and 31 turnovers. They’ve now lost six of 10 games by 16 points or more, the most in the league, and they’ve trailed by at least 17 every game but two. Dwayne Bowe has 49 catches, and Dustin Colquitt has 49 punts.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think fixing a tragic comedy of a football team takes more than posting a sign that says “ELIMINATE BAD FOOTBALL.”

The Chiefs should be used to talking about blowout losses by now, but they’re not getting any better at it.

Crennel, for instance, has tried to send messages this year by switching quarterbacks and cutting cornerbacks and giving up his defensive coordinator duties to concentrate more on offense (the Chiefs have responded by scoring 19 points in 25 possessions), and pledged that anyone who turns the ball over will be benched.

He has vacillated between “ELIMINATE BAD FOOTBALL” and “PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL” signs, but is still wondering what else he can do to stop his team’s pathetic football.

“We’ll evaluate and determine if there’s anything else we can do,” Crennel says.

Thing is, too many in the Chiefs’ locker room seem to be in denial. Flowers mentioned that some people think the Chiefs are among the NFL’s top five in talent. Shaun Smith called for fan loyalty, and pointed out that only two teams can play in the Super Bowl. Jamaal Charles said a coaching change would only set the Chiefs back, as if they’re not already there.

The Chiefs are playing worse than bad football. This is football so bad it’s turning one of the league’s most loyal and passionate fan bases into its most angry and outwardly disrespectful.

Maybe it’s only natural that some of the men in the locker room are in denial about that. But after another blowout loss where empty seats and fans dressed in mourning outnumbered everyone else, the owner must now face reality.

To reach Sam Mellinger, call 816-234-4365, send e-mail to smellinger@kcstar.com or follow twitter.com/mellinger. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/11/18...#storylink=cpy


Boom!

in

**** PIOLI

also in

Set the Chiefs back to what, winless?

Jamaal would be smart to keep his mouth shut.

Clark will just ignore it again.:shake:

LMAO

Hunt continues to meet with angry fans, partly to gather information to help diagnose the problem.

If the 275 tumor on the face of this organization isn't obvious to Clark, I'm not sure what else there is to say.

Jamaal is a good player, but pretty dumb when it comes to the way other things work. Like most football players though.

And Romeo said he wasn't feeling very good because he just finished cramming a whole box of twinkies into his fat ass and gave himself a stomach.

Jamaal has never been a good interview. LMAO

Probably already posted, but...

Nice article but Clark doesn't care.

ROFL

Of course the players love club Romeo.


I used to just want pioli gone but I think this whole team is a cancer and can get ****ed

awesome

keep pouring out the ridicule...

Clark and Pioli are laughingstocks

Yeah, that line deserved a little more attention. It's absolutely staggering how someone (Hunt) who is allegedly so smart can be so ****ing stupid.

Hmmm ...

That was okay, but it was a stink bomb when what we really need right now is the 500 megaton bunker buster.

You're a better writer than that Mellinger. Think of your ink as venom and the page as Pioli's pale, great toe. Don't disappoint us any more or there's a banner somewhere with your name on it.

FAX

:LOL:

Good read. The hard part to accept yet becoming true is that we have become direspectful. Not sure how you deal with that but as much as I despise Peoli and the coaches i hate what I see said by some fans.

If nothing else, the Star's reporters have gained major brownie points with the fans (or at least the fans here) through all this.

America... **** YEAH!

In his defense, he is not the most articulate sperm in the load.

He was probably trying to say something profound and it just sorta came out that way.

FAX

Nice write up Sam. Cant wait to hear what Fescoe has to say tomm. I will be checking my phone often while at work just hoping to see that Fat Scott has been canned.

Holy cow dude, that is pretty direct. LMAO

There's always the danger that a person will over-react in situations like this. You want to avoid that, if at all possible.

In this case, he's taken the concept a little further than I would have, but I understand his reluctance to act any sooner.

Meanwhile, I'm sure he's thinking of how to extricate himself from this bizarre situation and come out a hero on the other side.

FAX

Good job Sam!

I do kind of agree with this. I want this movement to cause change as much as anyone, but I do hope that things can be mended after this regime is gone. I don't want the fans to completely lose their supportive and loyal culture long-term. I just want that supportive and loyal culture to have teeth.

Totally agree at least with my own actions. I used to scream n stomp and be frenzied during games. Now I dont feel any emotion for bad Chief football, and have so much disgust for this organization, it seems like it will be hard to ever cheer for these guys. I hate our Qbs, I hate our clueless coach, and I Despise the front office.

All I'm saying is that this situation with the fans doesn't require astute analysis. If things aren't self-evident to Clark, we should all be very worried.

Or maybe he just heard that Hostess went out of business!!!!!

Pioli, Crennel, etc. worked in BOSTON. If catching some crap in KC is a problem, I don't know how they survived the east coast.

imho, it is easy to understand: Clark isn't driven to win a title, he just wants the franchise to function in the least bothersome (to him) way...

he hired pioli to 'set it and forget it'...and if we were even in eyesight of mediocre, he'd be profitable and unconcerned...that's why he extended him last year, pioli was doing well enough, it would have never occurred to him to actually evaluate what pioli had built (crennel, cassel)

but Pioli has turned this thing into a nightmare circus of which Clark is suddenly the ring leader...it's the worst thing it could be to clark: inconvenient...a bother

Clark doesn't actually have a ****ing clue about how to fix it because he isn't interest in fixing it (if that means building a championship franchise), he's interested in making it go away...so, what's the simplest thing he can do to make it run smoothly again (which has nothing to do with winning, per se)?

he's trying to figure that out

If what you say is accurate why is Clark bothering to fly to road games? What purpose does that serve?

LMAO LMAO LMAO

Life imitates art.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...75865635_n.jpg

I think the only way the fans lose that "supportive and loyal culture" long-term is if Clark fails to show a dedication to winning over the long-term.

I'd bet anything that attendance will increase the home game following Pioli's termination.

If Clark fails to act, however, it's going to get ugly, and it should.

Nearly 20 years without a playoff win? That's damn near impossible to do in this era of parity in the NFL.

It's obvious that it's become a how can I fix this without it costly me more money dilemma for Clark.

This will be the catalyst if Clark decides to blow things up.

Until today Clark could live in denial that Save Our Chiefs was just a few isolated fans on the Internet. Today was visual evidence that the ANGER and FRUSTRATION among the fanbase is widespread and very real.

he has a jet, it's not exactly some great travail...and what I am talking about is the administration of the chiefs, not literally that he has to take a day to fly somewhere...

Ah. I see.

Apparently, I over-reacted there.

FAX

Yep.

And the wondrous most fantastical part of all is that the movement can grow even more powerful in the weeks to come.

Pioli's goon squad has given the fans all the ammunition they need to strafe the front office into dust.

FAX

So he vest time to fly around the country every other week to watch a team suck ass but has no interest in improving the situation outside of the negativity being an inconvenience?

Doesn't pass the smell test.

(Shudders)

I love this line:

Yeah...because traffic flows soooo smoothly into the stadium otherwise. ****ing cop-out.

I honestly think Clark wants to improve the situation, but has zero clue how to do it. He turned the organization over to a guy he thought could run it, paid him a shit ton of money, and it blew up in his face and now he doesn't know what to do.

Ill just say this......if Changes are not made after this season, im done with this team for awhile and ive been a fan nearly my entire life. IM nearing the point where they dont matter to me anymore. I cant continue to put any energy into something that doesnt give back. Ive got too many other more important areas of my life to focus on.

Fire the mother****er and get someone else. Wash your hands, lint roll your suit, and move on.

This just isn't that hard.

Me thinks Clark already extended Pioli and doesn't want to take the financial hit. Hell if the contract was done during the summer, who the hell knows what kind of buyout language it has in it.

He knows he has to fire Pioli.

I bet he's pulling out his hair trying to ID the replacement GM.

Clark denied that he gave Pioli an extension. (Hunt was the source for Teicher's article, no question about that.)

I predict a fairly big crowd next week with it being Thanksgiving weekend, Denver, and Peyton Manning coming in.

Pioli hitched his wagon onto CASSEL and they all need to be shown the door... And whatever they do they better ignore Friggin Mel kiper

sorry, forgot i was talking to Mr. Wrong About Everything

what i should have said, so as not to stir the tiny snow globe in your skull:

Clark is has long thirsted for a championship and is currently interrogating fans, other GMs, and the squirrels in an effort to develop a multi-faceted plan for building a superbowl winning franchise....he will spare no time or expense, and tolerate no failure...he can not sleep at night knowing we are so far from a championship....but he also can't put his finger on what is wrong since and pioli, crennel, and cassel are all performing above expectations...if it isn't pioli and crennel "what, what could it be!?!?" he implores to the squirrels and fans...this is the most likely explanation for a man long known to be obsessed with only one thing: finding the right latin guy to bang his wife...

no, wait, I meant: winning a championship

The place will be LOUSY with Donk fans. They love to kick us when we're down. It's always been that way.

The thing about that is this; every owner takes into account the possibility of an early termination when they hire a GM, a coach, and assistant ... anybody. It's always factored into the initial hiring decision.

I think people make far too much of this notion that Clark would take a financial hit in order to fire Pioli. Although it's true, I think it's a tad over-blown, to be honest.

FAX

Agreed, but he hasn't even paid the last coach. This guy is eating coal and shitting diamonds.

Yep those Western Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and other losers will fill up Arrowhead.

Could be. I know I'm tired of playing spy games with this group. It's a lot of work trying to be a Cheaps fan. Instead of bringing me pleasure, they make my head hurt

As for why he's flying to road games...same reason fans go to Arrowhead: to party.

No, he's not out drinking Nats with the peasants, but there's little doubt there are all sorts of "designer" party favors in the suites (Whitney Houston clip).

He will ignore it until the bottomline forces him to pay attention.

And given the way the league is structured there's not really much of a reason to pay attention.

His unquestioning acceptance of letting Pioli bring back Cassel with no legitimate competition is damning. He was clueless that Cassel was viewed as complete garbage by people who, you know, buy season tickets and put money into his pockets. The damage the never-ending Cassel experiment has done to this franchise is mind-blowing.

LMAOLMAOLMAOLMAO

Cuckold Hunt?

The Jags almost ****ed up and won. About had a heart attack.

It's the typical transgression. Bust your ass to become boss, have kids, let your wife baby them while you're putting in work, grow old, hand the business over to them and everything goes to shit because they either a) don't give a **** or b) are too big of pussies to do what needs to be done.

**** off.
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LMAO

Pioli got an extension. You can't believe a luck of what the KC media sez.

Shaun Smith is right, only 2 teams CAN play for the super bowl.

We as Chief fans know this, because we have been watching 2 completely different teams than the one he have given loyalty, money, agony and tears. We Chief fans have watched teams move, be created from scratch and go to superbowls since the last Chiefs playoff wins.

The Titans and Panthers were created from concept and been in a superbowl since the Chiefs last win and the Texans are strong contenders this year.

Since the last Chiefs PLAYOFF WIN....Chiefs fans have agonizingly watched The Broncos, Chargers, Raiders and Lowly Seahawks compete for 5 superbowl titles...FIVE Championships from the AFCW since the Chiefs have last sniffed a single wildcard round playoff win.


And players who have been here 5 minutes want to judge us? I want them to drink from a hog confinement septic tank for their uninformed stupidity.

ROFL

That is for certain sure, Mr. stonedstooge.

FAX

Its the money test it does not pass. Oil stinks but is profitable.

I could give a damn about Pioli or roscoe crennel. What I hope is we have not become the ugly fan. Im old fashioned and really believe we were pretty special. But reading the FB comments makes me almost ashamed. Chalk it up to a few very ignorant posters but calling for Peoli to die or be killed is simply wrong

Lets not become those guys

Why wait? Serious question... he gains nothing and loses everything putting this off. He doesn't need to retain Pioli to start working his replacement.

I don't think you have to worry about this. We're the pretty prisoner who has been getting ****ed for years.

It's time we let our asses get stank so that we can instigate change.

Rep.

The purge is coming, and when it does, I'll don the Red and Gold again and yell and scream and support it regardless of the wins or losses.

This is my team. Our team.

We're from Kansas City, Missoula, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Australia, etc., but we are all Chief fans.

This team, our team, was taken over by a meglomaniacal tyrannt, a person with no concern for what the Chiefs were and what they should be. They damn near destroyed this team, but in the depths of the darkest hour, the fans began to rise, began to understand that it is indeed our team, and they took it back from the brink of utter desolation.

They took it back because they loved this team and what it stands for.

No, too much effort has been given, too much passion has flowed not to cheer and support this team, our team - the Kansas City Chiefs.

Pioli will be fired. They purge will happen.

And I will never be a bigger fan of the Chiefs than at that moment. I hope you will be as well.

Occupy Arrowhead.

ROFL That is really REALLY funny.

Headline reads

"Chiefs security nearly arrest 2 combat veterans on vet appreciate day at Arrowhead for peaceful distribution of non-violent-non-vile literature containing facts about the Chiefs"

Romeo thought the fans dressed in black were mourning the end of Twinkies.

List examples of how you think the fans have become "disrespectful".

Back-up your pathetic, inane statement.

Also do you find it "disrespectful" that the Chiefs charge their fans premium prices to park and attend games to watch a 1-9 team that is not competitive? Do you find it "disrespectful" that the Chiefs asked for and received millions of $$$ from Jackson County taxpayers to renovate Arrowhead Stadium and have put forth a team that has 1 win in 10 games this season?

Dude, I agree but give him a break.

He's functionally reeruned.

"THIS" just isn't enough.

I got chills reading this post because I feel the exact same way
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