MELLINGER: Chiefs fans feel ignored

[pr_capone]

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/10/25...l-ignored.html

The coupons caught Clark Hunt’s attention.

Jim Lakey was just creative and gutsy and fed-up enough to think they might. So after he wrote a letter to the Chiefs owner detailing a list of mistakes and slights on Kansas City, Jim took two days’ worth of newspaper coupons and stuffed them in the envelope to “help” the team sign more discounted free agents.

“However many were in The Star,” Jim says of the coupons. “Probably about 200 of them.”

Lakey is 66, a retired associate dean at UMKC. He lives in Kansas City and has cheered for the Chiefs for years. This isn’t the first letter he’s written. Clark’s father, Lamar, wrote Jim back a few times. Jim mentioned this in his words to Clark, essentially daring the younger Hunt to write back.

Jim didn’t expect an invitation to Clark’s office.

“I wondered if he just wanted to see who the nutcase is who sent all the coupons,” Jim says.

Jim sent me a copy of the letter, and described the meeting when I reached out.

Maybe you’re surprised that Clark Hunt invited a critical fan to his office. It doesn’t fit the narrative pushed by many in this town of an absentee owner who cares more about profits than football, but the story of the country’s most dysfunctional sports marriage is more complicated than a sound bite or oversimplified caricature.

The saddest part is that the Chiefs and their fans should be sharing unending bliss, not a vague, mutual distaste. This used to be a model partnership, one that made each side stronger.

The Chiefs once brought big-time sports to one of the NFL’s smallest markets, and their fans made the players, coaches and management-types rich and adored. This was peanut butter and jelly, fall and football, Christmas and children. One made the other better.

No team in the NFL had a better homefield advantage than the Chiefs in the 1990s. Arrowhead Stadium was, literally, a game-changer. Las Vegas sports books pushed their point spreads a little further. Opposing teams spent a little more time coordinating silent snap counts. Players talked of their heads ringing for days after games here, even if they never got hit that hard.

That’s all gone now, of course. The Chiefs have lost 28 of their last 40 home games. Only three of those 12 wins came against teams that finished with a winning record.

Three weeks ago, fans paid to fly a banner over Arrowhead before a home game. It called for general manager Scott Pioli to be fired. This weekend, they’ll do it again.

In three weeks, they’ll encourage fans to wear black to a game at Arrowhead — mourning the loss of their joy.

“The Chiefs are my longest-lasting relationship,” says Eric Grannell, a 32-year-old man from Wichita who’s organized what amounts to a fan revolt called Save Our Chiefs. “I’m having a public fight with my girlfriend, is what it feels like.”

This is the loudest and largest group of frustrated fans, and Grannell says “nobody with any authority has said anything to us.” They feel ignored, they feel taken advantage of, and they feel that they’ve been taken for granted.

The Chiefs seem to think Grannell’s group will be angry no matter what, and maybe that’s right. But the Chiefs haven’t tried to bridge the gap, and these are some of their most passionate fans.

The Chiefs are broken, and they don’t seem able or willing to fix themselves. Not right now, anyway.

Hunt, team president Mark Donovan and general manager Pioli know they have a problem. What’s not clear is how much of the problem they’re willing to own blame for, or how much of the problem they foolishly dismiss as false perception.

Pioli did a series of interviews last week but largely avoided direct responses to the questions fans most wanted answered. Hunt and Donovan each declined requests to talk for this column, and neither has talked publicly since the beginning of the season.

They are letting fan sentiment get away from them, or perhaps more accurately, they are now wearing the consequences of too much previous negligence. It’s normal for fans to be upset at a 1-5 team, but it’s extraordinary for fans to be upset enough to fly banners over the stadium and come to games dressed for a funeral. Some inside the Chiefs’ offices want to portray the Save Our Chiefs movement as a vocal minority, and maybe they’re right.

After all, how could you tell for sure?

“That’s a great question,” says David Carter, executive director of USC’s Sports Business Institute. “And maybe this is a weird answer, but I don’t know that you need to. If you run a team, or any business, you should be out in front about what your customers’ issues are. You shouldn’t have to wait to find out what’s driving them crazy.”

The Chiefs actually interact more with fans than popular narrative gives them credit for. Hunt and Donovan do some of this personally; Hunt spends at least a little time before each game talking with fans in the parking lot, and has invited some in for lunch during the week.

But what they’re doing is the equivalent of fighting rising waters with a colander. Actually, if you consider the previous neglect when it comes to large-scale fan interaction, they’re fighting rising waters with a colander after not paying for flood insurance.

Some inside the Chiefs’ offices think this is all blown out of proportion. They blame the 1-5 record, ignoring that losing only exposes issues that have been building for years. They point to letters from fans who are still supportive, but comfort taken in the relative few who refuse to acknowledge their problems is as counterproductive as worry over the relative few who refuse to see any positives.

The Chiefs do too much of both, which is a small but telling example of how they helped create this mess.

The Chiefs are run by smart people who care. The aggravating part is their lousy way of showing it to the masses.

Lakey, the coupon clipper, says he and his wife spent about two hours in Clark Hunt’s office. Lake had wanted the letter to be noticed, which is why he made a candy-wrapper joke, but he couldn’t be sure if he went too far by essentially mocking Hunt and talking of giving up season tickets for yardwork.

Jim didn’t think he’d be invited to Hunt’s office, and certainly didn’t think the owner would go through various draft classes, pick by pick, voicing disappointment in some and pride in others.

“He was very nice, very cordial,” Jim says.

Jim liked that Hunt listened, that he asked questions. Hunt treated Jim like he mattered, which is essentially what all fans want. Jim had his chance to criticize spending, personnel decisions and what he saw as a detached way of operating.

“I came out of there believing the guy cares,” Jim says. “I think he’s genuinely concerned that he has a perception problem. I think he understands this.”

Jim is one man. The problem is that Hunt and the Chiefs aren’t doing nearly enough for the thousands of others with legitimate frustrations. They haven’t for years.

The irony of Jim’s story is that the Chiefs obviously know how to get their message across. They just aren’t doing it on a scale worthy of an NFL franchise, and the result is hurting both sides, team and fan, whose formerly strong bond is now infected with mistrust.

[cdcox]

Clark doesn't get it. It's the notion that Matt Cassel was an acceptable QB and the notion that RAC was an acceptable HC. If you screw these up this bad, you don't get a free pass on some draft picks that didn't work out as well as you had hoped.

[FAX]

I hate to see the movement set back ... and of all things, due to a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. It's pretty smart, though. They will effectively mitigate SOC simply be re-defining it. Good politics.

FAX

[Hammock Parties]

2010 was a great draft. Berry, McCluster, Moeaki and Arenas are ****ing studs for sure.

Loved the 2011 draft with Baldwin and Bailey as 2 of the first 4 picks. Dominating game changers.

[FAX]

Ah well ... let's puff out our chests and make monkey sounds. Then, maybe things will look better in the morning.



FAX

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

2010 was a great draft. Berry, McCluster, Moeaki and Arenas are ****ing studs for sure.

Loved the 2011 draft with Baldwin and Bailey as 2 of the first 3 picks. Dominating game changers.

If you were to pull up the 2010 draft day thread, I was advocating Sean Lee, Daryl Washington and others in the second round.

Later that day, I was attempting to be optimistic about the draft class but any optimism (much like my optimism heading into 2012) was quickly dispelled due to the product on the field.

[chiefzilla1501]

I don't think Clark's a bad guy. Maybe not active as we'd like, but I don't think this story is necessarily surprising.

Here's what's funny. Clark Hunt is the boss. After the fans got ripped in public, Clark Hunt stood up for the fans. Pioli didn't say shit.

When Kent Babb did an expose` on Arrowhead Anxiety, Clark agreed to the interview. Pioli refused. And Pioli refused interviews afterward too.

It almost seems like Clark is distant enough to not even realize what Pioli is doing and who he's pissing off. What also bothers me is missed opportunities. This guy probably sounded off on Clark for being cheap. When he should have been sounding off on the expensive GM who isn't doing shit.

[Chiefs Pantalones]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry about the signs we're gonna be seeing at the game on Sunday

[FAX]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I don't think Clark's a bad guy. Maybe not active as we'd like, but I don't think this story is necessarily surprising.

Here's what's funny. Clark Hunt is the boss. After the fans got ripped in public, Clark Hunt stood up for the fans. Pioli didn't say shit.

When Kent Babb did an expose` on Arrowhead Anxiety, Clark agreed to the interview. Pioli refused. And Pioli refused interviews afterward too.

It almost seems like Clark is distant enough to not even realize what Pioli is doing and who he's pissing off. What also bothers me is missed opportunities. This guy probably sounded off on Clark for being cheap. When he should have been sounding off on the expensive GM who isn't doing shit.

The Yep Machine just pounded out 32 pre-fab Yeps.

What it sounds like is Mellinger (who used to be Babb-esque in his support of our cause) is echoing the story-line the Chiefs have fed him. That's bad enough, but their counter-attack is well-conceived and could be very effective at reducing our number and reinforcing the already-existing notion that we're "bad fans".

I'm going to go outside and fart real loud now.

FAX

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by FAX

The Yep Machine just pounded out 32 pre-fab Yeps.

What it sounds like is Mellinger (who used to be Babb-esque in his support of our cause) is echoing the story-line the Chiefs have fed him. That's bad enough, but their counter-attack is well-conceived and could be very effective at reducing our number and reinforcing the already-existing notion that we're "bad fans".

I'm going to go outside and fart real loud now.

FAX

We hit them up with facts of their failure , and see how the franchise and the fan base reacts. If they just give you're not "true fans" then give them the evidence of not providing an entertaining product which is why we and many others are angry.

[DaWolf]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

We've been angry since Vermeil left.

No, this franchise became a joke the day Gunther was hired as HC. It lost all credibility the day that Carl forced Vermeil to hire Gunther as his DC. It sunk in the toilet when we gave away DRAFT PICKS for HERM FREAKING EDWARDS.

The Vermeil era was a travesty. The decline started once Gunther took over but Vermeil just turned this into a soft, finesse team who couldn't stop anyone on defense, and this team has never stopped being soft, going from the spinner defense to the Dumbther defense to Cover 2 to this wussy 3-4 scheme we play now with all the worthless sub packages...

[FAX]

Originally Posted by Tribal Warfare

We hit them up with facts of their failure , and see how the franchise and the fan base reacts. If they just give you're not "true fans" then give them the evidence of not providing an entertaining product which is why we and many others are angry.

I understand that, Mr. Tribal Warfare. I've been disseminating ugly, damning, Pioli factoids on that tweeter place as if I were some kind of Tourette's-aflicted, town crier.

I just can't help noticing the change in Mellinger's tone and the contextual cynosure he's chosen. For example, instead of focusing on the fact that WE HAVEN'T HAD A SINGLE LEAD IN A SINGLE GAME ALL SEASON LONG, he's relating the Chiefs' rhetoric that SaveOurChiefs and the Banner Folk are nothing more than a few, isolated, loud-mouthed imbeciles who never saw a tittah they didn't hate.

If I were running this campaign, I would be formulating a counter-attack to deal with that misrepresentation that could be implemented by sun-up.

But, I've drop-kicked this poor nag enough for one thread, so I'll give it a rest.

FAX

[RunKC]

As much as we bag on Pioli I will give him credit for one thing. He's done a great job with the OL.

Asamoah has played well most of the time, Lilja had a good year in 2009 and looks like an above average C so far this year and Hudson is gonna be a stud. He just needs experience. Oh and Winston has been above average.

I loved the Hudson and Allen picks. Multi-year starters who were very proven guys coming out of college. I think the OL is set up for the future.

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by FAX

If I were running this campaign, I would be formulating a counter-attack to deal with that misrepresentation that could be implemented by sun-up.

But, I've drop-kicked this poor nag enough for one thread, so I'll give it a rest.

FAX

I concur with the counter attack, we'll need a global voice and a viral campaign which would involve a YouTube channel and a Q & A with Mellinger.

[mdchiefsfan]

Originally Posted by FAX

I hate to see the movement set back ... and of all things, due to a blatant misrepresentation of the facts. It's pretty smart, though. They will effectively mitigate SOC simply be re-defining it. Good politics.

FAX

Hopefully the majority wear black on the 18th, if they don't, we've proven their point.

[007]

Originally Posted by mdchiefsfan

Hopefully the majority wear black on the 18th, if they don't, we've proven their point.

Yeah, I am really hoping that doesn't backfire. I'll be wearing my black chiefs jacket to that game.