Dispatch From The Barstool: The Face Of The Franchise

Tomorrow is going to be a great day to go to work. Not real work, mind you, but my other job. When I leave my apartment Sunday morning with my belly full of ribs and beer, I will be dressed for success and heading to work. It's a demanding but rewarding occupation and I love it.

I'm a Kansas City Chiefs fan and I'm the Face of the Franchise.

You see, in my everyday world I'm the only Chiefs fan around. I don't have Sunday Ticket and it's very rare for a Chiefs game to be televised here in New Jersey so I watch at a local bar. Giants and Jets fans are obviously there along with Eagles, Saints, Lions, Bucs, Ravens, Steelers & Cowboys (the dual plagues), Raiders, 49ers, Bills, Broncos, Bears, and me.

This is the bar I normally haunt so I know all of the regulars and they know who I root for. Since we're not in Kansas City, you can pretty much guarantee no one has any idea what's going on with the team. I am the lone source of advice for any Chiefs-related mock drafts, fantasy drafts, injury updates, or weekly picks for the people I know. I am a Beat Reporter and the Director of Public Information rolled into one (though the more I drink, the more likely I am to switch from reporter to columnist). It's a nice way I get to share the passion I have for the Chiefs with my friends.

Those of you who've had to watch games at the bar when you're the team with the fewest fans will know that perhaps the saddest part of watching at a bar is not having sound. In those cases, I become The Voice of the Chiefs for those around me. Now those of you listening to Mitch will hear something like: "Charles cuts left. He's got room. Makes a man miss. He's at the 20. The 10. Cuts again. Touchdown Kaaansaaaas City. Touchdown Jamaal Charles. Charles once again tastes the sweet nectar of the endzone." That's a great call and I get goosebumps on replays and highlights when I hear it. The Jersey version is a little like this: "Holy $#1t! Yes! Run, M*^#er F?@%er, run! F?@k yeah! Eat that $#1t!" Almost the same, right?

I have to say the most rewarding part of this job is when I get to be the Team Historian. I'm proud of this franchise and its history. The Lamar Hunt stories around the Super Bowl, debating the merits of LT vs. DT as sack masters, toasting Joe Delaney every once and awhile with an old timer that remembers #37 even though he never rooted for the Chiefs are all wonderful things that remind me of the impact the Chiefs have had even all the way out here in New Jersey.

Tomorrow is going to be great! I get to be a Beat Reporter, the Director of Public Information, the Voice of the Chiefs, and the Team Historian. I get to be the Face of the Franchise!

Actually, I get to be A Face of the Franchise. I'm sure my story isn't very different from most of you. Maybe you see more Chiefs fans on a regular basis than I do. Maybe instead of a bar you'll be watching the game from home, or even Arrowhead, but come kickoff we'll all be dressed in red for success and rooting like it's our job. Wherever we watch, be it in a bar across the country or the front row in Arrowhead, we will be in the Home of the Chiefs. We will share our passion. We will raise our voice. We will remember our past.

We are Chiefs fans, and we are the Face of the Franchise.