First and foremost: Tony Gonzalez was one of the best Chiefs in franchise history and will go down as the absolute greatest tight end in NFL history ever. Everything he has done for the Chiefs over the years is greatly appreciated. He brought us all so much joy and pride over the years. He always said he wanted to finish his whole career in KC.
However, my all time favorite player Tony Gonzalez “bitched” (yeah, I said it) his way out of KC and indicated that he wanted to go to a Superbowl contender. I was surprised to hear that he OK’d the trade to Atlanta, since I believed at the time, and believe now, that Atlanta was never a serious contender for the Superbowl. Once in Atlanta, Tony immediately began gushing about how the Falcons were one of the best teams he has ever played on, and in fact said that Matt Ryan (who is currently playing lousy) was the best QB he ever played with (cue Trent Green sigh).
Atlanta started off hot and is now faltering. They are currently sitting at number two in their division with a 5-4 record behind New Orleans and their 9-0 record. I am sure that Atlanta will not win the Superbowl. (Do you think Atlanta is going to beat the Vikings, New Orleans, New England, Indianapolis or even Cincy?)
The more Atlanta loses the better second round pick we will receive. So is it wrong to root against the Falcons and Tony? Aren’t you all secretly hoping for an Atlanta collapse? Don’t you want them to miss the playoffs? I am and I do.
It is obvious to me that even if we had Tony Gonzalez on our team this year, we would still suck. I was heartbroken but ok with the trade when it happened, and now even more so. Thus, in hindsight, the trade of Tony for Atlanta’s second round pick was a very, (although bittersweet) smart move for the Chiefs, and it gets better every loss they tally. Am I Right? Who among you are looking at the box score every week hoping for that Atlanta loss? Am I the only one? Is it wrong?
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Hell no there is nothing wrong! I will vote against them right along with you for two reasons: 1.) You said it, a better draft pick. 2.) I love TG, but I almost get sick thinking of him winning a Superbowl with another team. He will retire as the all time greatest TE without a ring. Sorry TG!
I had no problem with him wanting to go to a winning team and try for a ring his last two seasons in the NFL. I would love to see Tony win a ring. I think it is funny that you root against Tony and have gripes about him despite him being a standup guy and a great representative of the Chiefs and the city. However, you constantly slurp Todd Haley who is a first class asshole.
If you have a wife that wants to leave you because you are a loser and wants to marry a rich guy would you be happy? hell no. I hope they never win another game as long as he is there.
I only hope for Tonys success! That being said….next year. Get us a good draft pick this year. Have a deep playoff run next year with Atlanta, but no super bowl. So he may return home to Kansas City…..yes we will take him back…..just like Shannon Sharpe did in Denver……to capture a super bowl with the us. Is it not reasonable to think we could be a contender in 2011?
dbk301: I guess you could sum my philosophy up as your either with us or against us.
Moreover dbk301 , I “slurp” no one. If you read my posts you will see that I advocate giving Haley more time to prove himself. I do not tolerate incompetence. You can be tough and fair at the same time.
Furthermore, how do you know if Haley is an asshole? What has he done to be considered an asshole? If a coach who yells at or gets at his players for making mistakes is an asshole then I guess their are a lot of asshole coaches out there. Many of whom have been successful. There are many different ways to coach or motivate.
If you want a touchy feeley coach then Haley is definitely not for you, but it does not mean he is an asshole.
These players and coaches are highly paid professionals who have very specific jobs to do and if they fail then they should freaking hear it, especially in a league where automatic success is a must, and the head coach is the one who is going to get fired by the owners or hear it from fans like you.
I would be willing to bet a lot of money that you wouldn’t be calling Todd Haley an asshole if we were headed to the playoffs. Oh, but then again you probably think I am slurping, right?
HELL NO it aint wrong , thats the first result I look for Sunday night. I hope they tank.
As much as I want to see Tony G go to the playoffs, I want a higher second round pick more.
The only time I would actually root for the Falcons is when they play either the Cowboys or the Vikings. (Hate them) Other wise I hope they lose every week…Move up that second round pick…
TG is one of my all-time favorites as well, but we have to come to reality that he is for sure on the last couple of years at the most of his career. I thought it was a pretty good trade in order to make more room and opportunities for new players in the Pioli/Haley era. I am excited to see when KC finds another amazing TE.
jones I like that post
I wish all the best to Tony,, how ever I don’t see a super-bowl in the Falcons immediate future,, that said,, Tony is a great part of the Chiefs history and that is history,,, so I am looking forward to the future for the chiefs…………
GO CHIEFS!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh and as far as “is rooting for Atlanta wrong”,,, no
I think it’s okay, in concept, to root against the Falcons so that we end up with a better pick. On the other hand, I guess I am not okay with the concept of rooting against Tony personally. The way I see it, he has never done anything to deserve the ill will of Chiefs fans. Quite the contrary, he has done everything that any Chiefs’ fan could reasonably expect of him and more.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The reason that Tony Gonzalez is no longer a Chief is not because that’s the way that Tony wanted it. The reason that Tony Gonzalez is no longer a Chief is because that’s the way that Pioli and Haley wanted it. Tony made it crystal clear that he would play for the Chiefs if that’s what the organization decided. End of story.
Going simply off Pioli’s poor track record with 2nd round picks, I say there exists ample room to question the wisdom of trading Tony away. Moreover, given the style of offense that Haley is choosing to run, I feel pretty strongly that if Tony G were still playing for the Chiefs, right now we would probably be sitting at only 2 losses instead of only 2 wins. Go back and look at the games we’ve played this year and tell me I’m wrong.
DD,
You are right. I don’t think ANY true Chiefs fan should have ANY type of ill feelings for TG. He was the consumate professional the whole time he was here with the team. Do I like the fact that he left to get a SB somewhere else, HELL NO!!! However, I cannot, nor should anyone else for that matter, blame him for wanting to go to better contender than the Chiefs. He has everything a player wants, EXCEPT being a Champion. Dan Marino deserved a SB ring, as does San Diego’s LT and so does our beloved Greatest Tight End in NFL HISTORY!!!
“I feel pretty strongly that if Tony G were still playing for the Chiefs, right now we would probably be sitting at only 2 losses instead of only 2 wins. Go back and look at the games we’ve played this year and tell me I’m wrong.”
DD: no way, no how; see Atlanta’s 5-4 record for proof. Atlanta is a better team than we are and they are sitting at 5-4.
I’m kind of torn on this as Tony’s departure was a bit stressed and Atlanta losing does directly improve our team (via the draft pick) but he was so good and such a stand up guy for us for so long that I think he deserves to have fun in this, one the final seasons in his fantastic career.
On a side note, the team I’m routing for in the NFC? The Minnesota Favre’s… err… Vikings because of our own Mr. Allen who in addition to being one of the funniest guys in the NFL is my front runner for defensive player of the year.
Tony was pissen & moanin about being on a rebuilding team before Pioli & Haley were even in KC…
NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Aint nothing wrong with that at all!!!!!!!!!
Sorry T.G. but you should have asked for the Vikings!!
Slack JAW, Jeremy: I concur generally with your comments.
You wouldn’t BELIEVE how I got reamed in other blogs for calling Atlanta a middle-tier team after watching them struggle in a few games. Now, at 5-4, you can say they’re middle-tier without batting an eyelash.
Great as Tony was, he was average-minus as a blocker and his gaudy stats production still didn’t make a decisive in very many tight games, or KC would’ve won more than a pair last season and 4 the season before. NObody, including TG, was stretching the field vertically.
And no, rooting against Atlanta is not wrong.
And one MORE thing about TG: On a team with significant holes and problems retaining key talent, Peterson had no business paying franchise money to a TE. HE claims that he couldn’t get a 2nd-rounder for TG years ago. I find that hard to believe, but if true, it says something about Pioli that he DID get a 2nd-rounder for Tony in the twilight of his career.
hmills:
That’s a false comparison comparing the offers Carl got for Tony to what Pioli got. Carl was offered and agreed to send Tony to Buffalo for a 3rd round pick in the upcoming draft. Tony rejected that trade. Pioli got an offer from Atlanta for a second round pick two drafts away. In trades, picks two drafts away are devalued by one round. On that scale, we got similar value. The difference is, Tony was OK with going to Atlanta, but turned down going to Buffalo.
I’d have to say that I have mixed feelings on this one. I hte seeing him in a nother uniform but part of me was happy seeing Tony go to a contender, if you can call the Falcons a contender. Finishing his career in KC on a team that will most likely win only two games for the second straight year is no way to send off one of the teams all time greats and sure-fire first ballot hall of famer.
It’s not just that we currently suck, it’s the feeling of futility before every game. Every Sunday I see flashes, small and rare but flashes nonetheless, of a team that might be good at some point and heading in the right direction. Other than those flashes it is grueling watching the team struggle. The last Chargers game was the worst I’ve ever seen us play, on every level. I wouldn’t wish this season on Tony. I would however wish it on LJ. I’ll be pissed if by some miracle that “asshole” becomes a success in Cinci rather than causing them to implode. LJ is the epitome of an asshole versus Haley. Haley hasn’t screwed up and been forgiven enough yet for me to consider him an asshole.
There’s no reason to root against Tony while simultaneously rooting against the Falcons. I wish Tony personal success this year and in the future while I wish the Falcons failure the rest of the season.
I say root for Tony but root against the Falcons.
Good meeting you Jeremy. Thanks for the heads up and invite to the site. Keep up the good work. I look forward to watching some games with you over a few Stellas while the wives hang out.
I’d have to say that I have mixed feelings on this one. I hte seeing him in a nother uniform but part of me was happy seeing Tony go to a contender, if you can call the Falcons a contender. Finishing his career in KC on a team that will most likely win only two games for the second straight year is no way to send off one of the teams all time greats and sure-fire first ballot hall of famer.
It’s not just that we currently suck, it’s the feeling of futility before every game. Every Sunday I see flashes, small and rare but flashes nonetheless, of a team that might be good at some point and heading in the right direction. Other than those flashes it is grueling watching the team struggle. The last Chargers game was the worst I’ve ever seen us play, on every level. I wouldn’t wish this season on Tony. I would however wish it on LJ. I’ll be pissed if by some miracle that “asshole” becomes a success in Cinci rather than causing them to implode. LJ is the epitome of an asshole versus Haley. Haley hasn’t screwed up and been forgiven enough yet for me to consider him an asshole.
There’s no reason to root against Tony while simultaneously rooting against the Falcons. I wish Tony personal success this year and in the future while I wish the Falcons failure the rest of the season.
I say root for Tony but root against the Falcons.
Good meeting you Jeremy. Thanks for the heads up and invite to the site. Keep up the good work. I look forward to watching some games with you over a few Stellas while the wives hang out.
I have rooted against ATL ever since they signed Tony. Why? Because he’s an ex-Chief who bitched his way out of KC, just as the original post says. I don’t understand any Chiefs fans who feels obliged to root for Tony G to get a Super Bowl win. Why? If you are a Chiefs fan, then why do you really care about anyone else? Meh. I don’t get it. Don’t get me wrong, I love Tony G and what he gave KC. But unless a player wears Red and Gold, I’m NOT going to root for him. On the other side, if an enemy wears another uniform, and comes to KC, I will embrace him as CHIEF. It’s that simple. Marcus Allen was a Raider, folks. Guess what? He’s now one of KC’s most beloved players … he ended up in Red and Gold, so we love him. Tony Gonzo isn’t wearing our uniform, so I ave no idea what we owe him RIGHT NOW.