Chief Nute
01-31-2020, 03:48 PM
Just some extra time on a Super Bowl Friday for me, so I’m doing some reflecting. Nothing in here isn’t history that you all don’t know or haven’t suffered through along with us. I’m mostly a lurker here from time to time, but wanted to share my ramblings with all you crazies like myself and my dad. But this is our weekend! Let’s do this! For most of us, it’s been a lifetime coming.
My first memory of being a Kansas City Chiefs fan was listening to the radio with my dad (Chief Pote) in 1986. It was Week 16 and the Chiefs were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers that day where a win would get them the final wild card spot in the AFC. They hadn’t made the playoffs in 15 years. I was 7 years old and I didn’t know a whole lot about football at the time but I knew my dad was bought in, which in turn made me buy in. The Chiefs won 24-19 that day and I remember how happy and excited my dad was that his team was going to the playoffs. The Chiefs ended up losing the following week to the New York Jets, but the foundation was laid for years and years of sharing a bond with my dad of following and rooting for these Chiefs.
A couple down years would pass until the Chiefs hired Marty Schottenheimer, which really hit home because he was a former Browns guy, and we knew how close he got the Browns to the big game. The Chiefs became one of the most consistently good teams in the league behind a notoriously good defense and running game. Those were the Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith years. They were nasty. Eventually, the Chiefs brought in Joe Montana and Marcus Allen to give us the best chance to win it all in quite some time. We FINALLY had a big time offense to go along with this incredible defense. The year was 1993 and the Chiefs finally made that big time run all the way to the AFC Championship game. Unfortunately, we ran directly into the pseudo-dynasty of Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills who dominated the early 90’s in the AFC. We lost the game that day, and a couple years later, they decided that Marty-ball, as it not so affectionately became known as, couldn’t win the big game, so they parted ways.
A couple of years passed trying to find themselves when I’ll never forget hearing the news that one of our heroes, Derrick Thomas had been involved in a car accident and ultimately passed away. That was a tough one to deal with. A guy we watched terrorize defenses for ten years, suddenly taken too soon. This seemed to be a rock bottom time for the franchise, and it’s fans.
Then came the Dick Vermeil years. Vermeil was fun. We had one of the most explosive offenses in the league for a few years behind Trent Green, Priest Holmes and Tony Gonzalez. However, aside from one year with home field advantage squandered in the famous “No punt game” with a young Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James Colts team, the Chiefs were just a flashy bunch with no ability to stop anyone on defense and hence, never was able to get over what was turning into a massive hump for the franchise.
Years would pass as the team would ping pong back and forth trying to fill gaps from teams past. There were the Herm Edwards years as the team tried to find defense that wasn’t there for years behind Vermeil. Todd Haley, Romeo Crennel, Matt Cassel among others would come through to coach and quarterback a franchise that seemingly would never ever go after a big name quarterback or make a splash to try to win Lamar Hunt’s trophy let alone attempt to win a Super Bowl.
The 2012 season had just finished up, and the team was 2-14. Admittedly, it was becoming extremely difficult to continue the fandom. The team was a joke. Then, it all began to change. The team hired Andy Reid to come lead the team and get this franchise moving in the right direction. And that he did. Using that first draft pick on today’s starting left tackle Eric Fisher, and trading for Alex Smith, the team got back to its winning ways. Big Red got this team back to the playoffs four of his first five seasons, but seemingly could not get this team over the final hump, and that was to win the AFC Championship. Dad and I suffered through heartbreaking playoff loss after heartbreaking playoff loss. Everything from that “No punt game”, to Lin Elliott missing three field goals in 1995, to losing a 28 point lead at home against Andrew Luck, to Marcus Mariota catching his own touchdown pass to spark a comeback win to seemingly never being able to beat the Colts or Steelers when it mattered. That is until the franchise made its most important splash.
The Chiefs traded up in the 2017 draft to the 10th selection and ultimately draft Patrick Mahomes II. The Chiefs wisely let their leader to be sit on the sidelines and learn from Alex Smith until he could
be denied no longer. The Chiefs said goodbye to Alex Smith for the 2018 season, gave the keys to Mahomes and all he did was throw for over 5,000 yards, 50 touchdowns and lead the Chiefs to a date with Tom Brady in the AFC Championship Game. I’ll never forget the hurt as Rex Burkhead tumbled into the end zone in overtime to deny this team its chance to go to its first Super Bowl in 49 years. However, unlike years past where it seemed like it would never ever happen, we knew that Patrick would get this team to the promised land.
Fast forward through the 2019 season, where we had to sit and watch Patrick get carried off the field with a dislocated kneecap, down 24 points in the divisional round and 10 points in the AFC Championship and through it all, it’s finally here. This team is playing in Super Bowl 54 in Miami Florida!
So, as I sit here on the weekend of Super Bowl Sunday I reflect on what all this means. I know it’s just a game. But to me and my dad, this has been a constant bonding for us for almost 35 years. Through all the John Elway hatred, Marty-Ball criticizing, Monday afternoon phone calls breaking down yesterday’s game, to the playoff disappointments where we would always say, “there is always next year”, our wait is finally over to sit and say, our team is in the Super Bowl!
So excuse me if I get a little loud and maybe have one too many drinks on Sunday. But I plan to watch this game that me and dad have been waiting on for an entire lifetime, and I have no doubt, it will be one that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Go Chiefs!!!
My first memory of being a Kansas City Chiefs fan was listening to the radio with my dad (Chief Pote) in 1986. It was Week 16 and the Chiefs were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers that day where a win would get them the final wild card spot in the AFC. They hadn’t made the playoffs in 15 years. I was 7 years old and I didn’t know a whole lot about football at the time but I knew my dad was bought in, which in turn made me buy in. The Chiefs won 24-19 that day and I remember how happy and excited my dad was that his team was going to the playoffs. The Chiefs ended up losing the following week to the New York Jets, but the foundation was laid for years and years of sharing a bond with my dad of following and rooting for these Chiefs.
A couple down years would pass until the Chiefs hired Marty Schottenheimer, which really hit home because he was a former Browns guy, and we knew how close he got the Browns to the big game. The Chiefs became one of the most consistently good teams in the league behind a notoriously good defense and running game. Those were the Derrick Thomas and Neil Smith years. They were nasty. Eventually, the Chiefs brought in Joe Montana and Marcus Allen to give us the best chance to win it all in quite some time. We FINALLY had a big time offense to go along with this incredible defense. The year was 1993 and the Chiefs finally made that big time run all the way to the AFC Championship game. Unfortunately, we ran directly into the pseudo-dynasty of Jim Kelly and the Buffalo Bills who dominated the early 90’s in the AFC. We lost the game that day, and a couple years later, they decided that Marty-ball, as it not so affectionately became known as, couldn’t win the big game, so they parted ways.
A couple of years passed trying to find themselves when I’ll never forget hearing the news that one of our heroes, Derrick Thomas had been involved in a car accident and ultimately passed away. That was a tough one to deal with. A guy we watched terrorize defenses for ten years, suddenly taken too soon. This seemed to be a rock bottom time for the franchise, and it’s fans.
Then came the Dick Vermeil years. Vermeil was fun. We had one of the most explosive offenses in the league for a few years behind Trent Green, Priest Holmes and Tony Gonzalez. However, aside from one year with home field advantage squandered in the famous “No punt game” with a young Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James Colts team, the Chiefs were just a flashy bunch with no ability to stop anyone on defense and hence, never was able to get over what was turning into a massive hump for the franchise.
Years would pass as the team would ping pong back and forth trying to fill gaps from teams past. There were the Herm Edwards years as the team tried to find defense that wasn’t there for years behind Vermeil. Todd Haley, Romeo Crennel, Matt Cassel among others would come through to coach and quarterback a franchise that seemingly would never ever go after a big name quarterback or make a splash to try to win Lamar Hunt’s trophy let alone attempt to win a Super Bowl.
The 2012 season had just finished up, and the team was 2-14. Admittedly, it was becoming extremely difficult to continue the fandom. The team was a joke. Then, it all began to change. The team hired Andy Reid to come lead the team and get this franchise moving in the right direction. And that he did. Using that first draft pick on today’s starting left tackle Eric Fisher, and trading for Alex Smith, the team got back to its winning ways. Big Red got this team back to the playoffs four of his first five seasons, but seemingly could not get this team over the final hump, and that was to win the AFC Championship. Dad and I suffered through heartbreaking playoff loss after heartbreaking playoff loss. Everything from that “No punt game”, to Lin Elliott missing three field goals in 1995, to losing a 28 point lead at home against Andrew Luck, to Marcus Mariota catching his own touchdown pass to spark a comeback win to seemingly never being able to beat the Colts or Steelers when it mattered. That is until the franchise made its most important splash.
The Chiefs traded up in the 2017 draft to the 10th selection and ultimately draft Patrick Mahomes II. The Chiefs wisely let their leader to be sit on the sidelines and learn from Alex Smith until he could
be denied no longer. The Chiefs said goodbye to Alex Smith for the 2018 season, gave the keys to Mahomes and all he did was throw for over 5,000 yards, 50 touchdowns and lead the Chiefs to a date with Tom Brady in the AFC Championship Game. I’ll never forget the hurt as Rex Burkhead tumbled into the end zone in overtime to deny this team its chance to go to its first Super Bowl in 49 years. However, unlike years past where it seemed like it would never ever happen, we knew that Patrick would get this team to the promised land.
Fast forward through the 2019 season, where we had to sit and watch Patrick get carried off the field with a dislocated kneecap, down 24 points in the divisional round and 10 points in the AFC Championship and through it all, it’s finally here. This team is playing in Super Bowl 54 in Miami Florida!
So, as I sit here on the weekend of Super Bowl Sunday I reflect on what all this means. I know it’s just a game. But to me and my dad, this has been a constant bonding for us for almost 35 years. Through all the John Elway hatred, Marty-Ball criticizing, Monday afternoon phone calls breaking down yesterday’s game, to the playoff disappointments where we would always say, “there is always next year”, our wait is finally over to sit and say, our team is in the Super Bowl!
So excuse me if I get a little loud and maybe have one too many drinks on Sunday. But I plan to watch this game that me and dad have been waiting on for an entire lifetime, and I have no doubt, it will be one that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Go Chiefs!!!