This quote from the floppy-haired Sam Mellinger makes you think:
"...the Chiefs have more going for them than they have in years. Maybe a decade. Maybe more."
Since when have we felt this good about the Chiefs? A few years come to mind. I'm talking about how we felt heading into that season.
2011: Similar to the 2014 season, the Chiefs were coming off a somewhat surprisingly good season the year prior. There wasn't a whole lot to base your optimism on but, hey, they were good the year before so you thought they were going to be good again. (Except they weren't. Tyler Palko started not one but two national TV games, Todd Haley was fired and the Chiefs handed the 15-1 Packers their only loss.)
2014: The Chiefs team the year before won 11 games. This was year two of the Andy Reid regime. There was optimism there. Except there was the schedule. It was much harder in 2014 than it was in 2013 so expectations were tempered somewhat heading into that season. I feel better about the 2015 Chiefs than the 2014 Chiefs.
2006: The final hurrah in Herm Edwards first year as head coach. Trent Green's last year. The Chiefs had one of if not the oldest teams in the NFL. This was their final shot before Herm's youth movement which brought on Brodie Croyle vs. Damon Huard QB battles (and I say that as a Huard guy).
2005: Most of you will jump straight to 2003 but don't skip over 2005 as a heartbreaking season. This was Dick Vermeil's final year and the team was getting old so there was a sense that this was the final hurrah for this group. They ended up getting one more year before it came crashing down.
2003: This is the ticket. I haven't felt this good about the Chiefs since the 2003 season. The Chiefs of the 2000s were the exact opposite of the Chiefs of the 90s and could score tons of points. Dick Vermeil only needed three years to get the Rams to the Super Bowl. There was a feeling that's all he needed in KC. Priest Holmes had broken out the year before. After the 9-0 start and Mike Maslowski was hurt, it all came crashing down. Again.