Can't wait till Friday. I miss my guys in blue so much!!!!
My husband got free tickets to the Chiefs game including a free parking pass. It was fun to go because we never do. The anticipation and excitement for the home opener and hopes for a new season was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Getting into the stadium, parked, and through security was pretty easy as we stayed at our car til close to kick off. The weather was gorgeous but the sun was hot. The stealth flyover was awesome as usual.
The game was great the first half. The second half sucked. The crowd was pretty much gone by midway 4th quarter. No one was beating drums or singing. No Jesus was summoning the fans to get louder. No crazy sombrerro guy punching the air. The PA played canned songs and chants that people have heard a million times and motivated few people to actually stand up and cheer. They flashed 'GET LOUD' messages on the scoreboards. Reminding fans that they actually have a job to do...
The experience felt like I was sitting in the West side of Livestrong!
The difference in mentality of the fans was so stark and shocking. The Chiefs fans have no expectation of excellence, of success, of community pride. It's gone. It's really quite sad to see. Our seats were priced at $100 each. I remarked to my husband that I could attend 5 members section games for that price. More if I had season tickets. $27 to park pays for one game and beer for Sporting. The crowd around us was predominately white and over 30. Presumably affluent as well to be able to afford $100 seats for each member of their family. Unlike at LS where you will see colors and ages and many many young children.
It's just a different experience. A whole other world. A place I love to visit but don't want to live. I felt sorry for the fans after spending so much money, time, and hope just to see a team fail them yet again.
One man in particular seemed to sum up the entire experience. We were at our car drinking our last two beers before heading home. He stumbled over to our car and barely able to form a coherent sentence asked if we had a beer he could buy. We told him no because we just finished our last two (though we wouldn't have given him one anyway) and so he stumbled onto the next car. It reminded me of what I told my husband about tailgating and getting so drunk BEFORE the game...numbing the eventual pain.
I hope we, the SKC family, never get there. I believe we won't!