Chiefs Chiefs Set For Throwback Rivalry With Cowboys

Hammock Parties · 10-08-2009, 04:24 PM

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Sunday’s contest will be a veritable homecoming at Arrowhead Stadium. It features a reunion of old friends and foes on several different levels. To start with, the Chiefs (or Texans for this week) and Cowboys have an interesting history, and Sunday will be the first time they clash on the field with both teams wearing their vintage Dallas uniforms.

Facemasks have been painted gray to emulate the old Texans’ helmets, and players are encouraged to wear black cleats.

“I think it’s going to be cool,” said Glenn Dorsey. “We get to put on the black cleats, change the facemask up a little bit. I think it’s going to be cool. It’s going to give us kind of a spark, and everybody’s excited about it, so it should be fun.”

Todd Haley also seemed tickled about the idea of wearing throwback uniforms.

“I saw them at the owners meeting and I think it’s cool stuff, some of them are awesome, ours being one of them,” he said. “Those AFL guys, and Mr. Hunt being the main one, to fight and stay alive to keep it going and get it to where it is today is a big part of why we’re all here. I think it’s great. I wore a couple of shirts and hats in training camp, and I like wearing them.”

While the throwback jerseys and vintage logos are fun for players, coaches and fans, at the heart of this matchup is something the late Lamar Hunt always wanted – a meeting between the Dallas Texans and Dallas Cowboys. At the annual preseason kickoff luncheon, Chairman Clark Hunt referred to the game as a chance to settle an old score.

When the NFL denied Lamar the chance to start a franchise in his hometown of Dallas, he organized a group of investors and created his own league - the AFL. Hunt felt like the NFL put the Cowboys in Dallas with the purpose of eliminating the Texans and the upstart AFL. During the three seasons both teams resided in Dallas, Hunt challenged the Cowboys to a game on several occasions, but they declined each time.

The helmet the Chiefs will wear this weekend.
Gridiron Gab

Now, it’s a chance for the Hunt family to receive some kind of vindication.

“I just think because of the history it’s probably natural,” said Haley. “All the Hunts, and I talked to Norma (Lamar’s wife) after the (Giants) game. It was something that meant a lot to her husband and to (Clark and Dan’s) father. I think that’s just natural for them to carry that on. That this is the anniversary adds hype to it. But I don’t know if there is anything more important right now for us than to get a win.”

In order for Haley’s team to secure that all important win, he’ll have to defeat a former friend in Tony Romo. Haley was receivers coach in Dallas from 2004-2006, a pivotal time in Romo’s career, as he received the starting nod over entrenched veteran Drew Bledsoe during the 2006 season.

“I was with Tony for three years, I really think a lot of him,” said Haley. “He loves the game. He plays it that way with passion and enthusiasm and he increases the margin of error for his team. That’s originally why we put him in back in 2006 or 2007 or whenever it was, because of that ability to keep plays alive. They’re very good on explosive plays, and a lot of that is him. They’re running for a bunch of big plays but when they’re throwing it it’s generally because of that ability.”

This Sunday won’t be the first time Haley and Romo have tangled in an athletic competition. In Dallas, the two would often square off against each other in spirited racquetball matches. Haley called the sessions “a grudge match.”

“We were coming out of there, both of us bleeding and hitting each other with the racquet and the ball,” he said. “He’s just that type of guy - around all the time. Could be the middle of winter and he’d be calling me out on the field and saying, ‘coach, come look at this: I’m moving the ball this much in my hand; I’m putting my pinkie here instead of here. Will you come watch me throw this?’ ”

This weekend is also the Chiefs’ annual Alumni Weekend, where players from the past all flock to the Truman Sports Complex to reminisce about the days of old. At halftime this year Nick Lowery, former kicker and newest inductee into the Chiefs Hall of Fame, along with the Super Bowl IV championship team, will be honored.