[DJ's left nut]

I think it's a newfound appreciation for just how friggen hard it is to get one of these things.

Think of how many times the Chiefs were one play made/not made away from losing that game. There are probably 5 different plays that HAD to be made or the Chiefs lose. And a couple more that the 49ers just missed on that could've done it. And some that just get lost in the wash like when Nnadi fights a block off to hold Mostert to 5 on the drive where Jones batted the pass down. If Nnadi can't get back up and minimize damage there, the entire drive changes if Mostert pops for 13. And none of that's even getting into the STs tackle made by a guy many would have cut that changed everything against Texas. Or the dead-leg from Mahomes to get to the edge against TN and take their soul.

And all of that was a culmination of a hundred different things that were done that simply don't happen that often. It took a FA signing that worked out better than virtually ANY big money FA signings work out. It took Kelce signing an extension a year earlier than he needed to instead of chasing every dime he could. It took Pennel off the scrap heap and Matt Moore playing his ass off after coaching high school ball. It took a GM that said '**** value, I'm pushing my chips in...' on the Frank Clark deal. It took a wild come back against Detroit and Breeland Speaks knocking a ball down in the end zone in Foxborough. It took a loss in TN that gave us Suggs on waivers and another vs Indianapolis that created an angry Landlord who took his teammates to task. It took Fitzmagic.

And of course beyond all that it took Patrick Mahomes playing on a contract that pays him 10% of his true value and Jones playing on a 2nd rounders deal. It took a couple of big-time coaching coups to get Daly and House in here when they were among the most sought after assistants in the league (huge credit to Reid for hiring Spags when that wasn't a slam-dunk choice and huge credit to Spags for closing the deal on those assistants).

So many damn things had to happen for this and in real-time you lose track of a lot of them. Even now I'm probably missing a half dozen more critical decisions that vanish to history shortly after they're made. But when you spend 2 weeks devouring all things Chiefs-related, you essentially do one of those old-school 'cram before a test' sessions on the last 12 months of Chiefs football (let alone everything that's happened in the Reid era) and it comes into sharp focus what a monumentally difficult task this was and how impressive everyone involved had to be.

You see other teams win and think to yourself "Man, if we just had Tom Brady we'd be golden..." and sure, that helps a LOT. Of course they don't do this without Mahomes. But it took a ton more than just having Patrick Mahomes on this squad. The afterglow, and being part of it, gives you the perspective to really appreciate everything that went into making it happen.

That's been the most unexpected part of all this for me. Finally knowing what the finish line looks like and using that perspective to analyze everything that had to happen to get there has given me a far greater appreciation of why so many teams go so long without winning one of these - many of them truly excellent teams being led by smart men making sound decisions. This shit's hard. I just don't think you can fully realize that until you finally see it accomplished.