Fire Me Boy!
07-23-2005, 01:36 AM
chiefs like going long to wisconsin
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/12202997.htm
Smile, say Cheese: KC happy campers
By ELIZABETH MERRILL The Kansas City Star
Jared Allen misses his bed. After a week or so in the dorms in River Falls, Wis., the nightlife — or lack thereof — isn’t what speaks to Allen, a fun-loving Chiefs defensive end.
His back does.
“I think all of us would like to be at home or close to home,” Allen said. “But at the same time, it forces us to be together for a solid four weeks. We get to hang out with each other and build team unity. It takes us away from any distractions we have around the house, and we focus on getting better and getting ready for the season.”
For the 15th straight year, the Chiefs will leave the comfort of their homes Wednesday and head 464 miles north for training camp. Back in the day, it was hip to travel. The Chiefs joined four other squads in the Cheese League, a collection of NFL teams seeking cooler climes and ample competition in Wisconsin. They scrimmaged. They scuffled.
Now Kansas City is alone, one of the last NFL teams that packs up and goes long distance for training camp.
The Bears are gone, retreating to Bourbonnais, Ill., which is 57 miles from Chicago. New Orleans acquired funding for a new practice facility and went home. The Vikings are still close, but they won’t be coming to River Falls this year in part because the two teams can’t play nice.
Although he’s disappointed the competition has gone south, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said there are no immediate plans to move back to the Kansas City area.
“I’ve been evaluating the situation each year for the last, at least, three years,” Peterson said. “What we have in River Falls is a year-to-year agreement, but they’ve made it awfully difficult for us to leave.”
Ask what it will take to bring his team back to Kansas City, and Peterson says he won’t get into that. But it’s obvious a facilities commitment would help. He pointed out that the state of Wisconsin approved a $2.4 million funding package to add pro-style lockers and a new training room at Wisconsin-River Falls to help keep the Chiefs happy.
Peterson added that others closer to home haven’t been as helpful.
“Their state has done that for us, which I think is kind of special,” he said. “Because we try to get something done with our state here in regards to the professional athletes and entertainers tax and couldn’t get it done.”
Peterson moved the team to River Falls in 1991 after former coach Marty Schottenheimer complained that the late-summer heat in Kansas City made it nearly impossible to conduct two-a-days. The competition and intense practices, Peterson said, allowed Kansas City to make seven straight playoff appearances.
But the weather wasn’t the only thing that drew Peterson to Wisconsin. He liked the idea of bringing a team together in a faraway place with few distractions.
“For 23 days, I want all the football people, players, coaches, support staff and player personnel to be focused on what we do, which is football,” Peterson said. “The best way to do that is away from Kansas City.”
Allen says he doesn’t mind being stuck in a town with a population of 12,000 for 23 days. As a rookie making his first trip to River Falls last year, Allen had little time to do anything but sleep and play football.
“It’s a mental test for people,” Allen said. “In the offseason, you’re sort on vacation even though you work out. But when you go to training camp, it throws you in the mind-set that, OK, football has started, it’s time to focus and go to work.”
Of the 32 teams who will go to work in the next week, only Dallas travels farther for training camp.
The numbers had Dick Vermeil slightly concerned when he became coach in 2001.
Vermeil, who had camped in remote Macomb, Ill., when he was coaching the Rams, asked Peterson why the Chiefs had to travel so far.
“He said, ‘Why can’t we be closer to Kansas City?’ ” Peterson said. “Then after his first year, he said, ‘Well, now I understand.’ ”
It’s all about unity. And, in 2005, solitude.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/12202997.htm
Smile, say Cheese: KC happy campers
By ELIZABETH MERRILL The Kansas City Star
Jared Allen misses his bed. After a week or so in the dorms in River Falls, Wis., the nightlife — or lack thereof — isn’t what speaks to Allen, a fun-loving Chiefs defensive end.
His back does.
“I think all of us would like to be at home or close to home,” Allen said. “But at the same time, it forces us to be together for a solid four weeks. We get to hang out with each other and build team unity. It takes us away from any distractions we have around the house, and we focus on getting better and getting ready for the season.”
For the 15th straight year, the Chiefs will leave the comfort of their homes Wednesday and head 464 miles north for training camp. Back in the day, it was hip to travel. The Chiefs joined four other squads in the Cheese League, a collection of NFL teams seeking cooler climes and ample competition in Wisconsin. They scrimmaged. They scuffled.
Now Kansas City is alone, one of the last NFL teams that packs up and goes long distance for training camp.
The Bears are gone, retreating to Bourbonnais, Ill., which is 57 miles from Chicago. New Orleans acquired funding for a new practice facility and went home. The Vikings are still close, but they won’t be coming to River Falls this year in part because the two teams can’t play nice.
Although he’s disappointed the competition has gone south, Chiefs president/general manager Carl Peterson said there are no immediate plans to move back to the Kansas City area.
“I’ve been evaluating the situation each year for the last, at least, three years,” Peterson said. “What we have in River Falls is a year-to-year agreement, but they’ve made it awfully difficult for us to leave.”
Ask what it will take to bring his team back to Kansas City, and Peterson says he won’t get into that. But it’s obvious a facilities commitment would help. He pointed out that the state of Wisconsin approved a $2.4 million funding package to add pro-style lockers and a new training room at Wisconsin-River Falls to help keep the Chiefs happy.
Peterson added that others closer to home haven’t been as helpful.
“Their state has done that for us, which I think is kind of special,” he said. “Because we try to get something done with our state here in regards to the professional athletes and entertainers tax and couldn’t get it done.”
Peterson moved the team to River Falls in 1991 after former coach Marty Schottenheimer complained that the late-summer heat in Kansas City made it nearly impossible to conduct two-a-days. The competition and intense practices, Peterson said, allowed Kansas City to make seven straight playoff appearances.
But the weather wasn’t the only thing that drew Peterson to Wisconsin. He liked the idea of bringing a team together in a faraway place with few distractions.
“For 23 days, I want all the football people, players, coaches, support staff and player personnel to be focused on what we do, which is football,” Peterson said. “The best way to do that is away from Kansas City.”
Allen says he doesn’t mind being stuck in a town with a population of 12,000 for 23 days. As a rookie making his first trip to River Falls last year, Allen had little time to do anything but sleep and play football.
“It’s a mental test for people,” Allen said. “In the offseason, you’re sort on vacation even though you work out. But when you go to training camp, it throws you in the mind-set that, OK, football has started, it’s time to focus and go to work.”
Of the 32 teams who will go to work in the next week, only Dallas travels farther for training camp.
The numbers had Dick Vermeil slightly concerned when he became coach in 2001.
Vermeil, who had camped in remote Macomb, Ill., when he was coaching the Rams, asked Peterson why the Chiefs had to travel so far.
“He said, ‘Why can’t we be closer to Kansas City?’ ” Peterson said. “Then after his first year, he said, ‘Well, now I understand.’ ”
It’s all about unity. And, in 2005, solitude.