I have been deployed for nearly one full year now, away from my beloved Chiefs. Away from the smoked filled parking lots lined with dedicated fans and friends. Away from any shred of life in KC that I know to be normal.....BBQ, great local beer, great local music etc., etc. I am 7,800 miles away and I can only see and smell one thing from KC.....OPTIMISM.

First of all, thank you to AP for your non-stop coverage of our Chiefs, best sports blog, bar none. You all have kept me and my Platoon in the know for any and all Chiefs news, in fact, I have made it damn near mandatory for my guys to read AP to get the REAL info they need and want about their Chiefs. 

So, moving on.......training camp is here back in Mo., ( where it should be, allowing fans an opportunity to see more of the team they so willfully support year after year). Draft picks are signed, talent is being brought in smartly and not by some good ol' boy system where a certain GM woud bring guys in his cronies said were the next big thing. No, it is being done right, finally. I think that this is the perfect year for the new Arrowhead to open it's doors because the Chiefs of recent past will not be walking though them. This is a new era in Chiefs football that started three years ago when Clark decided to put his stamp on KC Chiefs football. You can see it in the how players prepare, you can see how Haley has become more comfortable with the HC position. Most importantly, you can see the transition from players being weary of Haley to now trusting in his plan and his ideas of what makes a "team". I know some folks thought Haley was brash and arrogant and maybe they were right but the players seem on board with Haley and are willing to do what it takes to win. I hope so, the guy seems to have taken a step back and become more of a well rounded teacher/disciplinarian rather than a dictator of sorts, IMHO.

In closing, hell yes I am optimistic. I have already purchased my season tix (sadly I will miss the MNF/Arrowhead extravaganza) but I am ready for some football, some Chiefs football. The 2010 Chiefs will not win a Superbowl, they may not even win a playoff game. Does it matter to me? No, it doesn't. Rome wasn't built in a day friends, but from here I can see the coliseum taking shape and that means progress. That's all you can ask from my team, to get better ,because friends........ in my opinion, it can't get worse.

See you guys on the 26th for the 49er's game, I will be home for good from this Godforsaken country and sitting with a cold beer at the new Arrowhead watching my team get better........