The Kansas City Chiefs will see something in this training camp they didn't see a lot of last year in River Falls, WI.
Fans. Lots of 'em.
With camp now one hour away from Kansas City as opposed to seven, we'll clearly see quite a few more fans taking in practice.
Upon arriving at camp, Brian Waters noted the size difference between the two cities (and the number of McDonald's) as well as the biggest visual difference: the fans.
"There's a chance for thousands of fans daily," Waters said.
Indeed, St. Joe officials have said they expect up to 5,000 fans at times during camp. That's a stark contrast to the sometimes-less-than-100 scene in River Falls last year.
"That's something we never had to deal with back in River Falls," Waters continued. "That, and the fact that we're closer to home. That's something the guys haven't had to deal with in the past."
Waters is one of the team leaders because he helps keep the rest of the crew focused and on-task. With thousands of fans now lining the field cheering (loudly), that makes concentration a tad tougher at times.
The flip side to this is the adrenaline factor. I'd bet that players find it easier to play harder when they know a crowd is watching. Similarly, they're more likely to push themselves for all the folks that made the trip up to see them.
"That's one thing all the guys are looking forward to, having all these fans here, close, and having the energy to feed off of them in these hot practices," Jon McGraw said.