The Good Citizen
by Bewsaf on May 3, 2010 7:03 AM CDT
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From the FanPosts -Joel
You got game? That's not enough. At least not for the Kansas City Chiefs.
For a player to be on the Kansas City Chiefs there would appear to be certain expectations. While many organizations have their own ideas of what makes a quality teammate, there is a trend that is starting to materialize for the Todd Haley and Scott Pioli prospect: A good citizen.
A good citizen is a blessing to any team. He believes that he has certain responsibilities towards his teammates both on and off the field , just as the teammates have certain responsibilities toward him. The good citizen is aware of his duties just as much as he is aware of his privileges.
One of the noticeable veins that run through the 2010 Chiefs draft picks is that most of them are former leaders on their college football teams. Leaders inspire men by their respected sacrifices, their bravery, and their sincere actions. Leaders are good citizens.
Dear Good Citizen...Welcome to Kansas City.
It has become increasingly difficult for NFL teams to find good citizens and leaders among the throngs of youth who exit the college ranks seeking fame and money in the NFL. In the frenzy to reach such fame many lose site of the fact that football is a team sport.
The young have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations...Aristotle (II.1389a31)
The Chiefs have missed the boat for the last 5 years in their approach to find the sort of player that will turn this franchise around. The organization knew it needed to improve it's talent. They recognized that they needed the type of players that could pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. But they didn't seem to be able to find the right combination of talent. What the Chiefs needed all along were players not only with talent but good citizens as well. Men of courage who are dependable, sensible, loyal, and can follow the laws that are set forth by our society. pic source
Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all. Aristotle (I.1253a31)
Are you known to be a team cancer? Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Had trouble with the law? No thank you. Known as a hot and cold player? Thank you, but we can find better. Do you like to corner women in a bar bathroom? Move on.
It is not the same thing to say that a good citizen is a good man. The Kansas City Chiefs are not looking for 53 players that act like Gandhi. The Chiefs are not looking for players to give all their money away and help little old ladies across the street every hour of the day. If you are only a little like Brian Waters then that wouldn't hurt. Because through it all you won't find a better citizen than Brian Waters of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The good citizen need not of necessity possess the virtue which makes a good man. Aristotle (III.1276b34)
Great endeavors need not have good men at the foundation but are achieved through the commitment and perseverance of good citizens. Good citizens build and sustain franchises and poor citizens tear them down. Marty, one of my favorite coaches, lost site of this in his last year in KC. The team at the time, infiltrated by poor citizens and poor actions, crumbled to the ground that year.
Pioli, to this point, would appear to know the characteristics his foundation must possess to accomplish the goal.
If you are one of the many players that have been selected to join our Kansas City Chiefs, then we welcome you. We at Chiefs nation look forward to your exploits on the field and your contribution to our community.
Scott Pioli selected players that have begun their football careers as good citizens. In this, we at Chiefs nation commend you. But in the words of Aristotle as he quoted a Greek proverb...
Well begun is half done. (V.1303b30) proverb
Here's hoping what has been started gets finished.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arrowhead Pride's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Arrowhead Pride writers or editors.
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Great Post. Excellent use of qoutes
Hunt won’t leave this glass half full. He will keep Pioli to get things done. It’s been a long time coming, But it looks like we are going to be a consistant winner. Pioli only knows winning. Haley is hungry for that Super Bowl win that he just missed with Arizona. We will win
Welcome to the chiefs community Eric Berry. Don't screw it up.
Pioli's one mistake, not taking Terrence Cody
So may say so
but the post describes these being mutually exclusive, that they must be good players and good citizens, not one or the other.
Snap the fucking ball Brodie!
On September 13, 2010 I will finally get to share the Arrowhead Experience with my Wife. What better way that beating the hell out of the Dolts.
by jakethesnake27 on May 3, 2010 7:52 AM CDT up reply actions
Really?
How about TO? How about Chad Johnson? How about Keyshawn Johnson? What have those great talents done for their teams?
Chad Johnson straight balls.
You never hear anything negative about him from his teammates, just from the old media who find his flamboyance frightening.
What about Ray Lewis? What about Lawrence Taylor? What about Derrick Thomas or Jared Allen? All “bad citizens” yet all were/are monsters on the field.
If you limit the pool of players you pull from you limit how great your team can become.
by HIV 2 Elway on May 3, 2010 8:07 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
You forgot to add...
Jerry Rice, Reggie White, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders, Tony Gonzalez, Rod Woodson…
The Chiefs will see a return to respectability in 2010, emerging as the front runner in the AFC West! ....And I'll quantify that however I choose. Ahem.
What a bunch of asshole thoes guys were
Don't Fuccop Succop
by chicks_love_chiefs on May 3, 2010 8:40 AM CDT up reply actions
They don't really fit what he was talking about....
Arrowhead Pride - Moderator
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I see what you mean
But how are these guys not Good Citizens?
Snap the fucking ball Brodie!
On September 13, 2010 I will finally get to share the Arrowhead Experience with my Wife. What better way that beating the hell out of the Dolts.
by jakethesnake27 on May 3, 2010 1:06 PM CDT up reply actions
Really?
Ray Ray – killed a man and had his hommie take the fall
LT – coke head, blew lines on the sideline
DT – 7 kids by 5 women. Had no will and the kids got squat after he passed.
Jared Alled – All Pro drunk driver
Not what I would call good citizens but tore it up on the field, which is what should matter.
Well maybe we should look for players on death row, please.
Being a good person is what matter, not having a good football team dude, you need to get your shit straight.
Cavey! now yer talkin' ...
Pioli must seek players at all Maximum Security Prisons as those people will have the necessary toughness and mean-spiritedness need to be effective players in the NFL
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
You've mastered that font
Don't Fuccop Succop
by chicks_love_chiefs on May 3, 2010 2:47 PM CDT up reply actions
Remember
a good citizen is not necessarily a good man. It does not matter how many women you have had and how many kids as a result.
Maybe the topic should be looked at this way…was LT successful because he had good citizens on his team that held it (or him) together. Or did LT have 52 other guys on his team that blew lines on the sidelines with him. My guess is that the answer is the former.
Don’t get me wrong. You have to have talent to win. But poor citizens are not the glue that holds it all together. They flourish because the good citizens are doing it for them.
Bewsaf
excellent distinction
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
BS...
7 kids, who were unsupported financially after DT’s death, by 5 different women is not a good citizen. That is reckless and puts an undue burden on the good, taxpaying citizens of this community. That said, anyone want to stand up and say they wouldn’t take another DT on this squad baggage and all?
Fair enough
And…was it the good citizens holding it together for the Giants or was it 52 guys doing lines on the sideline that were the glue?
Bewsaf
We will just have to disagree on that
But you are right about the bad-ass coach. They actually had a lot of great coaches on that squad.
Bewsaf
There are a lot more examples of "bad citizens"
being a destructive force to their team than being a possitive. Yes coke snorting LT was a badass, but your examples are the exception not the rule.
我相信皮欧利, 加油酋长!!!
Yea, I get it. They are dirtbags.
But above it describes that:
The good citizen need not of necessity possess the virtue which makes a good man. Aristotle (III.1276b34)
Yea, I know the hanus shit these guys have done (allegedly in some cases). Seperate issues though…
Snap the fucking ball Brodie!
On September 13, 2010 I will finally get to share the Arrowhead Experience with my Wife. What better way that beating the hell out of the Dolts.
by jakethesnake27 on May 3, 2010 2:02 PM CDT up reply actions
Coaches can develop a player into a good player.
Good character is untrainable once you become an adult.
Mc = Descendent of...
Cluster = A group of stars in the sky.
McCluster = Son of the Stars
Berry = Mmm. Delicious.
Excellent Post and Rec'd
I really like the application of the Good Citizen philosiphic concepts. Aristotle also described that in times of revolution or “consitiutional change”(best description I can this of for what we have been going through lately) that the opportunities for citizenship increase, just as the need does. We are in a reconsitiution change and thus these “new citizens” have the greatest opportunity to contribute and become those Good Citizens that our team not only needs, but demands.
Snap the fucking ball Brodie!
On September 13, 2010 I will finally get to share the Arrowhead Experience with my Wife. What better way that beating the hell out of the Dolts.
We missed out on the best citizen of the draft though
Damn Donkies and their Tebow. Chiefs should’ve drafted him……..in the 5th round.
Big Gulps EH????? All right.....Welp....See Ya Later!
While having high character kids is important...
especially for a young, developing team, if you close the door on every rich 20 year old who has had a run in with the law or whose character is questionable, you close the door on success.
In NE Pioli and crew brought in plenty of players with a questionable record; cheap artist Rodney Harrison, cop hitting pot smoking “straight cash hommie” Randy Moss, roid raging Teddy Bruschi (Bear Down!), Vince Wilfork, Corey Dillion. Not to mention that the team itself cheated and it could be said that, as a whole, the team had questionable character.
HIV ... I've said it before and I'll say it again
I’d rather lose with the high character guys than win the the rest of them … give me 53 guys like Brian Waters any day
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
if the coach and GM need and deserve to be questioned ... absolutely
icebergs and torpedoes sink ships
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
What did he d to question his coach and GM publicly?
The Chiefs will see a return to respectability in 2010, emerging as the front runner in the AFC West! ....And I'll quantify that however I choose. Ahem.
Thought it was Whitlock that aired that shit out...
The Chiefs will see a return to respectability in 2010, emerging as the front runner in the AFC West! ....And I'll quantify that however I choose. Ahem.
That's not fair and you know it.
Brian Waters got into a dispute with Haley and Pioli but, especially once the season started, he kept his mouth shut so as not to be a distraction to the team. The fact that he didn’t talk to the media practically at all for the whole season is well documented.
Dude so you would be ok if we signed a player, that had killed your family?
As long as he tears it up on the field.
A lot of those
guys that you mentioned were brought in after the foundation was built and NE had a lot of hard working citizens.
Bewsaf
appreciate the nice writing around here
it’s a great Fan Post contrast to the “the chiefs will beet up every1” posts that crop up
Bewsaf, rec'd and so very awesome ...
one question, though, you noted …
It has become increasingly difficult for NFL teams to find good citizens and leaders among the throngs of youth who exit the college ranks seeking fame and money in the NFL
… does this mean Eric Berry plays for free?
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
Very good
Thanks for writing something a sophisticated person like me can enjoy.
Using big words and sounding all fancy…I love it.
All jokes aside, great post! Very truthful!
"Its going to be a challenge, its going to feel like forever, and there will be difficulties. But we will emerge on the other side of it stronger than we were when we entered." ~ Sudden
by Matt_Grbac on May 3, 2010 10:17 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
Matt ... sophisticated? you?
>code>"Khan, I’m laughing at your superior intellect." – Adm James T Kirk
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
followed immediately, of course, by EPIC Code Failure!
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
Haha!!!
That’s what you get Pam!!
That Code Pwned you!!!! Hahaha
"Its going to be a challenge, its going to feel like forever, and there will be difficulties. But we will emerge on the other side of it stronger than we were when we entered." ~ Sudden
by Matt_Grbac on May 3, 2010 2:50 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Rec'd Bewsaf...Right on!
What is said here, also appropriately, as Aristotle intended it to be, can and should be applied to nations. Not that a single man can bring down a whole nation…though that point might well be argued concerning certain dictators…but when a generation of bad citizens rises up in power and siezes control of a nation they can easily destroy that nation before their generation fades.
Unfortunately they often do not realize they were at fault before the nation has imploded. Likewise it is as unfortunate that good citizens do not quickly recognize and undermine the poisonous efforts of bad citizens with goodness.
Only history’s annals can reveal this sad reality to future generations.
Official Member: Eric Berry Fan Club
Tweet me @GiftNate
N. Gift
by giftedchiefsfan on May 3, 2010 10:29 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
AP gone soft???
Enough with the character, good citizen stuff already. Its a football team, not a boy scout troop. I dont care what players do as long as we win games. Im sure all the proponents of the The White 53 errr…. The Right 53 wouldlnt be saying shit if we were winning games. I dont care if our players are walking little old ladies across the street. Id actually prefer not. Football is violent game. No room to get soft. We need some crazy ghetto players who will do whatever it takes to win.
I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave
Hi ArrowDread
Actually, I wrote that the Chiefs were not looking for players to walk little old ladies across the street. Maybe you miss read that the first time.
I also wrote that a good citizen is not necessarily a good man. I think you might be confusing the two.
I did write, however, that a good citizen is dependable, sensible, loyal, have respected sacrifices, sincere actions, and are brave. I also wrote, or implied, that good citizens are good leaders (either vocally or by example).
Good citizens are the ideal team players.
Bewsaf
Players of high character
Is what they are looking for, not guys who are going to get involved or put themselves in a position to get killed or get in trouble. I’ll take a team i can be proud of over a team of thugs, even if it cost us a Super-Bowl.
ArrowDread ...
crazy ghetto players???
what, you got something against Ivy League?
you want a prison team? as long as they JUST WIN, Baby! you Al Davis in there, Dread? don’t care what a player does as long as he can play and we win? really? scoot out to Oakland where that kind of player is tolerated, even encouraged … or Dallas maybe …
sorry dude, your priorities are screwed up if that’s your idea of a “team” … your idea of representing MY OUR community … and maybe that’s the REAL problem, nobody DOES care as long as the team wins
at least until now … now, Goodell (and others) are sending the message: we DO care!
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
Not looking for some kumbaya circle jerk...
Remind me, who has been to and won the Super Bowl more recently, Dallas and Oakland or KC? Maybe the ghetto players really do just whip up on the choir boys.
Flagged for implying Goodell isn't a douchebag
Don't Fuccop Succop
by chicks_love_chiefs on May 4, 2010 9:54 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
Goodell is doing what needs to be doen, what SHOULD have been done long ago ...
and needs to be done more often … is it a rough game? sure is … but I dislike detest freaking HATE seeing guys use their wealth and position to get around the law and think it’s “ok” … no, kids see that and think it’s “ok” for them as well … Big Ben is NOT a role model by ANY means, and if it were me, he and LJ and others would be long gone from the game … if a player can’t conduct himself in a civil manner then he has no business being in the league or representing the league or his team, much less reaping the monetary rewards simply for being a thug
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
Its not the NFL player's job to raise your kids...
Here’s an novel idea let the players play and let the parents parent
great idea, except for one little thing ...
too many parents who abdicate the role and responsibility or parenting to begin with … resulting in the very kind of people we’re talking about here
I know this, I see this all the time and have seen it for years (I teach, so I’m a first-hand witness, not someone “spreading rumors”)
that said, it’s not the job of the NFL to be parent and police either … which is why those morons should be gone to begin with … that way the NFL doesn’t HAVE to worry about kids looking at drug users and people abusers as “heroes” … and if Tagliabue (and others) had been tougher years ago when these issues first started, we likely wouldn’t have the issues now
seems to me that what gets lost in the bazillions of dollars is that it’s a GAME … a SPORT, you know? that rather reminds me of another word: sportsmanship … but when parents are poor sports, screaming at umps and refs when kids are playing a game in 7th grade or little league, it’s pretty apparant that sportsmanship itself is lacking in society, which is pretty sad right there (and that’s why Goodell wants players to knoch off the asinine TD celebrations, because it’s NOT a sportsmanlike thing to do … just ask Marcus Allen)
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
"Reaping the monetary rewards simply for being a thug"
I’m pretty sure players reap monetary rewards for what they do on the field, not off.
and I'm pretty sure if there were more consequences for inappropriate behavior and it affected their paycheck more, the inappropriate actions would stop
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
What is this White 53 shit??
Second time I’ve seen it used and let me tell you, it’s not clever.
我相信皮欧利, 加油酋长!!!
it's asinine, narrowminded and racist ... and if I ever see it a second time it WILL be flagged
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
I just wish...
we had a whole team of Lance Longs
I'd rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave
Calling players "thugs" is just as racist...
You’re not fooling anyone when you use that term.
White 53 wouldn’t be funny if it wasn’t so damn spot on.
I'm not calling ALL players thugs ... and most certainly it has nothing to do with race
Ben Roshlisberger is as much of a thug as anyone … Brian Waters is one of the best examples of Right 53 as anyone (oh, excuse me, according to some people he shouldn’t count because, after all, he’s not lily white)
get real, HIV … you’re supporting an unjustifiable cause
"I shall conquer untruth by truth" - Mahatma Gandhi
"It's always easier to sell 'em some shit than it is to give 'em the truth" - Shel Silverstein, The Perfect High
Whitlock Rocks!
hi, Mo! 5 minutes!!!
Hard to judge...
at this point if these guys are leaders or not. Just because they were chosen as captains means little. Anyone can lead. To lead is merely the act of showing someone the way to a destination. To be a leader one must assume the responsibilty of fulfilling anothers’ destiny.
I have to say...
That with all these NFL players in the news lately up to their ridiculous antics, it’s been really nice & quiet on the KC front. No talk of LJ getting in trouble in clubs or bad mouthing the coach, no Tony Gonzo talk about wanting to be traded, no new coach new GM, speculations. It’s been really nice. So as long as these “good citizens” can play ball & make the plays….I’m all for it!
by HeatherChiefsLvr on May 3, 2010 2:12 PM CDT reply actions
I love you...
oh wait, that’s another thread.
Seriously, I agree. You got to be able to play ball.
Bewsaf
Me and my Classical Humanities major give this a 'Rec
Founded Arrowhead Pride 7/26/2006
Please read our community rules, netiquette rules and our technical overview before commenting.
Classical Humanities major....
…interesting. Maybe my next post should be on the metaphysics of the Chiefs mind. :-)
Thanks, by the way.
Bewsaf
It's like the model airplane
the plane ain’t a plane without wings, but you need the glue to hold those wings on
Can we be the AFC West Champions in 2010. You better believe it
The Chiefs offence will EXPLODE in 2010
I want both
I guess I am greedy I want, no I expect both. Good citizens and good ball players. I know some will disagree but, I would rather lose with honor than otherwise. I want to always be proud of our Chief’s I don’t live in an ivory tower I know players are human. I think you will find out if you look at HOF players Bad citizens or just plain outlaws are the exception rather than the rule.
The most important thing you can do in life is help other people.
Wow!
I just had to step back and take a deep breath after reading this post and all of the comments.
Great writing! Rec!
Only people who carry the opinions of others need the support of others.
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