Tribal Warfare
04-15-2010, 04:19 PM
Lilja’s Loving His K.C. Return (http://www.bobgretz.com/chiefs-football/lilja%E2%80%99s-loving-his-k-c-return.html)
April 15, 2010 - Bob Gretz |
From the Truman Sports Complex
Every player strives to help his team reach the Super Bowl.
But getting there is not the end-all and be-all. It’s winning the championship that matters.
Ryan Lilja knows. During his six seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He was a starter in Super Bowl 41 when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in the rain in south Florida. It was the highest of highs.
Then earlier this year, Lilja was a starter for the Colts in Super Bowl 44, when the New Orleans Saints walked away with the victory.
“It’s ten times worse to lose one,” Lilja said Thursday. “I can’t believe I even said that. It doesn’t make sense. As good as it is to win one, this last one stung, it stung more.
“I came in here and talked to Mike Clark before I signed. He’s the strength coach and came here from Seattle. The first thing he said to me is what does it feel like to lose a Super Bowl? We sat there and talked for 20 minutes about how miserable it is.”
Lilja is now part of the Chiefs, the team he broke in with as an undrafted college free agent out of Kansas State back in 2004. That year the Chiefs released him on the final cutdown before the start of the season, hoping to pass him through waivers so he could be added to the practice squad. Indianapolis claimed him on waivers and he got the chance to spend six seasons playing with Peyton Manning and going to a pair of Super Bowls.
After the loss to New Orleans, Colts GM Bill Polian said poor offensive line play was one of the reasons his team was unable to win the game.
That didn’t set well with the Indy blockers.
“”It was confusing I think to us,” Lilja said of Polian’s comments. “We felt like we played a good game. He’s entitled to his opinion; we don’t have to agree with it. I definitely didn’t.”
The only salve that works to heal his Super Bowl burn is the return to the Chiefs.
“It feels great; it took me a couple of weeks to grasp that I’m back, I’m a Chief,” Lilja said. “There were some other options, but as soon as this one presented itself, I got that old feeling that I had six years ago. It’s a special thing to be able to play in your hometown. That opportunity doesn’t happen very often.
“I’m getting married in July to a girl I went to high school with here. Her entire family is all here. We are going to be married here, we have a house here and now I’m going to be working here. It couldn’t be any better.”
April 15, 2010 - Bob Gretz |
From the Truman Sports Complex
Every player strives to help his team reach the Super Bowl.
But getting there is not the end-all and be-all. It’s winning the championship that matters.
Ryan Lilja knows. During his six seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. He was a starter in Super Bowl 41 when the Colts beat the Chicago Bears in the rain in south Florida. It was the highest of highs.
Then earlier this year, Lilja was a starter for the Colts in Super Bowl 44, when the New Orleans Saints walked away with the victory.
“It’s ten times worse to lose one,” Lilja said Thursday. “I can’t believe I even said that. It doesn’t make sense. As good as it is to win one, this last one stung, it stung more.
“I came in here and talked to Mike Clark before I signed. He’s the strength coach and came here from Seattle. The first thing he said to me is what does it feel like to lose a Super Bowl? We sat there and talked for 20 minutes about how miserable it is.”
Lilja is now part of the Chiefs, the team he broke in with as an undrafted college free agent out of Kansas State back in 2004. That year the Chiefs released him on the final cutdown before the start of the season, hoping to pass him through waivers so he could be added to the practice squad. Indianapolis claimed him on waivers and he got the chance to spend six seasons playing with Peyton Manning and going to a pair of Super Bowls.
After the loss to New Orleans, Colts GM Bill Polian said poor offensive line play was one of the reasons his team was unable to win the game.
That didn’t set well with the Indy blockers.
“”It was confusing I think to us,” Lilja said of Polian’s comments. “We felt like we played a good game. He’s entitled to his opinion; we don’t have to agree with it. I definitely didn’t.”
The only salve that works to heal his Super Bowl burn is the return to the Chiefs.
“It feels great; it took me a couple of weeks to grasp that I’m back, I’m a Chief,” Lilja said. “There were some other options, but as soon as this one presented itself, I got that old feeling that I had six years ago. It’s a special thing to be able to play in your hometown. That opportunity doesn’t happen very often.
“I’m getting married in July to a girl I went to high school with here. Her entire family is all here. We are going to be married here, we have a house here and now I’m going to be working here. It couldn’t be any better.”