Some Days Are Better Than Others

October 12, 1969 was a Sunday. The Chiefs were playing their first home game of a season that would eventually end in a Super Bowl IV victory. Mike Garrett rushed for a TD. The defense had a fumble return for a TD. Tom Flores completed his only pass of the day for a TD. Jan kicked a field goal and the Chiefs won 24-0. I was in the womb. I’m sure fetus KC_Satchmo got his first taste of Memorial Stadium hot dogs. I’d like to think the roar of the crowd was music to my still developing ears. It was a good day.

January 13, 2010 was a Wednesday. The Chiefs had just completed a 4-12 season and there didn’t seem to be much hope for the near future. The team had been bad in all phases of nearly every game. Every position group had visible holes to be filled. Our coaching staff was a patchwork mess. Going to games wasn’t much fun. It hadn’t been this bad since the early 80s. I was diagnosed with colon cancer. It was a bad day.

The days in between these two dates ran the entire range from amazing to awful. There was the day we traded for Joe Montana. I had gotten word from our sources inside the front office that this was in the works, but it didn’t seem real until it happened. It was a good day. There was the day we started Elvis Grbac over Rich Gannon in the playoffs. It was a bad day. There was the day we destroyed the Bills on Monday Night Football in our first home MNF game in years. It was a good day. There was the day Jim Harbaugh lead an over matched Colts team into Arrowhead during the playoffs and left with an undeserved victory. It was a bad day.

Like so many of you, I can related many memories in my life back to the Chiefs. Chiefs games, Chiefs seasons, Chiefs teams, Chiefs players are all relatable to my non-football memories. I can remember who the QB was when I broke up with my High School sweetheart. (It was your fault Steve Deberg) I can remember who our Defensive Coordinator was when I got my first real post-college job. (Thank you Dave Adolph) I can find a role model who was the constant through it all. (I miss you Lamar Hunt) The Chiefs have never been the most important thing in my life. They have always been more like the background image on the calendar. You don’t really notice it until you look, but it’s been there all along.

Following that bad day in January 2010, things began to look up. The diagnosis had come early enough that surgery was all I required. Everything went perfect and I was back in business. Many good days would follow. The Chiefs made the playoffs and although we still had holes to fill, the stars seemed aligned for a return to glory. Then August 2011 happened. The enemy in my abdomen had returned and was more ready for a fight than before. The prognosis was still good, but the treatment would need to be more aggressive. For the first time in my life, I was missing Chiefs home games. Now I watch the team that I love, play in the stadium that I love in front of the fans that I love on the television.

I am more separated from my team than I have ever been. And yet, I can’t help but feel more connected than ever. This team is struggling. They have good days and bad. They are both lion and lamb. I can relate. I look at the roster and I see more answers than questions. I look at the coaching staff and I still believe. I look at the front office and feel confident that the work to get it right will never stop. And I fully appreciate the concerns of all those who disagree.

On good days, I read. I read what the media says about our Chiefs. The commentary is lazy and uninspired. We’re either terrible or dangerous depending on how we played that week. They fail to realize that this imperfect team is just like all of us. They have good days and bad. I read your posts and discover that you are divided. Either everything is wrong or nothing is wrong. You’re either a real fan or you aren’t. I have to admit that I find it puzzling.

I don’t understand how anyone can look at this group of young players with their first time coach and their first time GM and not see promise for the future. I also don’t understand how anyone can look at this team and not see there are holes remaining in almost every position group and until they are filled, criticism is waranted. I don’t understand, but I respect your various islands because I know that they exist because you care. ArrowheadPride is just like the Chiefs. You have good days and bad.

I’m not about to tell you what you should think, but I will share my thoughts. I hope they stay the course. I think we should give those in charge the room to grow that we damn well demand for ourselves. I think the coaches and GM have made mistakes, but I trust them not to make the same mistake twice. I think that talking about the Chiefs should be more fun than it is. I believe that it will be soon. I look forward to the day when hateful words will be saved for those who deserve them…Raider fans. I can’t wait until we have the opportunity to have a good laugh at the expense of the clueless…Donkey fans. I relish the day we get to be dismissive of the invisible few…Charger fan(s?).

I am a Chiefs fan. Today is a good day.