Chiefs Sam Mellinger | Disastrous start exposes disconnect between Chiefs leaders, fans - Page 3

**Tribal Warfare** · 09-17-2012, 11:54 PM

Sam Mellinger | Disastrous start exposes disconnect between Chiefs leaders, fans
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star
The Chiefs Kingdom Apocalypse is in its third day now, and the takeaway isn’t that there are so many fans screaming their panic and anger — it’s that there are so few fans preaching hope and patience.

It’s not that so many fans are frustrated with their team — it’s that seemingly so few are giving that team the benefit of the doubt.

In this, the Chiefs must face something much worse than losing two football games. They must confront the question of whether they’ve lost their fans’ trust.

That’s a remarkable thing for Kansas City’s most important institution besides barbecue — the only thing in town that can unite black and white, rich and poor, Mizzou and Kansas.

The Chiefs have every conceivable advantage to build a consensus of unanimous support in this region, and they’ve blown it with a series of image and football blunders that turned the franchise into something unworthy of its fans’ confidence.

Think about it. How many of your friends believe the Chiefs will turn it around? How many trust the organization will put in the work and write the checks and make the sacrifices to hold off what feels like a disastrous season? How many outside the Chiefs’ offices are saying the current alarm is misplaced or premature?

In the 24 hours or so after the Chiefs embarrassed themselves in Buffalo, and colleague Kent Babb and I each wrote scathing takedowns in return, I heard exactly one fan stand up for the team. Kent says he heard from two. That’s out of hundreds of emails and Tweets we received from people who love the Chiefs and no longer feel the love back.

Unless we’re only hearing from a (very) vocal minority, this is a problem bigger than a shoddy defense and limp offense, worse than bad draft picks and Jamaal Charles’ knee and even Matt Cassel’s passing.

This is about the fundamental relationship between fan and team, where fans give their unwavering time, money and hope in exchange for the team not taking advantage of them.

In many real ways, that relationship is now broken in Kansas City, and the Chiefs are closer than they should be to what started happening with the Royals in the mid- to late-1990s.

Let’s pause for some context, and the obvious counterpoint that the story would be completely different if the Chiefs were 2-0 or even 1-1 or perhaps even 0-2 with competitive losses.

Winning makes everything better, losing makes everything worse, and being blown out makes everything worst of all. The Chiefs can “fix” a chunk of their image problem by winning next week in New Orleans; do that, and the conversation around town changes.

All of those things are true.

So is this: this season’s losses are exposing underlying issues that have been cooking for years.

There is a disconnect between fan and team that just shouldn’t exist in this market and this sport. The NFL makes sure every franchise has enough money to compete, and fans here don’t believe the Chiefs are using it. The NFL makes sure every team has hope, and fans here are remarkably quick to lose theirs.

Some of that is football, and fans cheering for a team with a bottom-half quarterback in a league dominated by elite ones.

But some of it is emotional, too: fans cheering for a team they’re no longer convinced has their best interests in mind. Clark Hunt doesn’t have his father’s charisma or everyman appeal, and has come to be known more for his salary-cap space than anything else.

The fact that Hunt doesn’t live in town is largely irrelevant for a lot of reasons — he has a place here; his father never lived in KC, either; and in 2012, we have access to things like cellphones, email, video conferencing and a private jet – tools that connect him to this market in ways his dad could only dream of.

But perception has a way of becoming reality. In other words, fans have never felt that Clark is one of them.

As the losses pile up, you could say essentially the same thing about the Chiefs. There is an eroding bond here, not in terms of how much fans love their team, but how much love they feel in return.

Losing two games is bad.

Losing that trust is much worse.

09-17-2012, 11:54 PM	Topic Starter
Tribal Warfare Man of Culture Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $-2807187	Sam Mellinger \| Disastrous start exposes disconnect between Chiefs leaders, fans Sam Mellinger \| Disastrous start exposes disconnect between Chiefs leaders, fans By SAM MELLINGER The Kansas City Star The Chiefs Kingdom Apocalypse is in its third day now, and the takeaway isn’t that there are so many fans screaming their panic and anger — it’s that there are so few fans preaching hope and patience. It’s not that so many fans are frustrated with their team — it’s that seemingly so few are giving that team the benefit of the doubt. In this, the Chiefs must face something much worse than losing two football games. They must confront the question of whether they’ve lost their fans’ trust. That’s a remarkable thing for Kansas City’s most important institution besides barbecue — the only thing in town that can unite black and white, rich and poor, Mizzou and Kansas. The Chiefs have every conceivable advantage to build a consensus of unanimous support in this region, and they’ve blown it with a series of image and football blunders that turned the franchise into something unworthy of its fans’ confidence. Think about it. How many of your friends believe the Chiefs will turn it around? How many trust the organization will put in the work and write the checks and make the sacrifices to hold off what feels like a disastrous season? How many outside the Chiefs’ offices are saying the current alarm is misplaced or premature? In the 24 hours or so after the Chiefs embarrassed themselves in Buffalo, and colleague Kent Babb and I each wrote scathing takedowns in return, I heard exactly one fan stand up for the team. Kent says he heard from two. That’s out of hundreds of emails and Tweets we received from people who love the Chiefs and no longer feel the love back. Unless we’re only hearing from a (very) vocal minority, this is a problem bigger than a shoddy defense and limp offense, worse than bad draft picks and Jamaal Charles’ knee and even Matt Cassel’s passing. This is about the fundamental relationship between fan and team, where fans give their unwavering time, money and hope in exchange for the team not taking advantage of them. In many real ways, that relationship is now broken in Kansas City, and the Chiefs are closer than they should be to what started happening with the Royals in the mid- to late-1990s. Let’s pause for some context, and the obvious counterpoint that the story would be completely different if the Chiefs were 2-0 or even 1-1 or perhaps even 0-2 with competitive losses. Winning makes everything better, losing makes everything worse, and being blown out makes everything worst of all. The Chiefs can “fix” a chunk of their image problem by winning next week in New Orleans; do that, and the conversation around town changes. All of those things are true. So is this: this season’s losses are exposing underlying issues that have been cooking for years. There is a disconnect between fan and team that just shouldn’t exist in this market and this sport. The NFL makes sure every franchise has enough money to compete, and fans here don’t believe the Chiefs are using it. The NFL makes sure every team has hope, and fans here are remarkably quick to lose theirs. Some of that is football, and fans cheering for a team with a bottom-half quarterback in a league dominated by elite ones. But some of it is emotional, too: fans cheering for a team they’re no longer convinced has their best interests in mind. Clark Hunt doesn’t have his father’s charisma or everyman appeal, and has come to be known more for his salary-cap space than anything else. The fact that Hunt doesn’t live in town is largely irrelevant for a lot of reasons — he has a place here; his father never lived in KC, either; and in 2012, we have access to things like cellphones, email, video conferencing and a private jet – tools that connect him to this market in ways his dad could only dream of. But perception has a way of becoming reality. In other words, fans have never felt that Clark is one of them. As the losses pile up, you could say essentially the same thing about the Chiefs. There is an eroding bond here, not in terms of how much fans love their team, but how much love they feel in return. Losing two games is bad. Losing that trust is much worse.
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