Yours truly making the trek to a preseason win at Chicago's Soldier Field in 2008.

Why?

I’m a firm believer that those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.

So without further delay, here are a couple I think we need to remember.

1. Of the 53  players on the Chiefs kickoff roster in 2008, only seven joined the team prior to Herm Edwards arrival in 2006.

2. Six rookies were in the Chiefs starting lineup on kickoff weekend in 2008. Thats the most for any KC team since the Chiefs became the Chiefs.

What do I take from that?

Herm and Carl thought they had time. Lots of time. All the time they needed to blow up the KC highrise from the basement up and start building from the ground up.

They thought the KC fans that Carl Peterson brought to Arrowhead (yours truly being one of them), would keep coming. No matter what. No matter how many losses. No matter how embarrassing those losses might be.

And they thought the Hunt family would keep them in their cozy offices at Arrowhead for as long as the view pleased them.

Well as we all know they were wrong. Dead wrong. Out of the NFL wrong.

But was Herm given a chance?

From my seat at the top of Arrowhead I would look through my Tasco’s and see that Herm was the worst game day KC coach ever to take the sidelines  at Arrowhead.

But I could also see the results of some damn good draft choices taking the field. And he had  no quarterback worth squat to work with.

As I made that three hour trek home from the 2008 games, it was becoming more and more obvious and more and more frustrating that we were losing but not by much. And so we come to the third stat for 2008:

In six of the last nine Chiefs losses, the margin of defeat was seven points or less.

At the time my outlook was that we were playing to the level of the competition. We didn’t want it bad enough.  But was that reality?

What can we draw from these stats AA’ers? What do you think?

Was Herm making progress? Did Clark pull the plug to soon? Did we remove the head to cure the headache? Are we headed in the same direction with the current regime? How long do we give Pioli and Haley?

1. WR Dwayne Bowe caught more passes in his first two seasons (2007-2008)with the Chiefs than any other player in club history. Priest Holmes held the previous record with 132 in his first two.

2. Linebacker Derrick Johnson started 44 of the 45 games he played in his first three NFL seasons from 2005 to 2007.

3. Larry Johnson entered 2008 with 56 touchdowns in his 56 career games. The only two players in NFL history to score more than one touchdown per game at the time were Ladainian Tomlinson and  Jim Brown.

4. Finally, entering 2008, Herm Edwards had taken his teams to the playoffs four times in his NFL coaching career.  At the time, only two coaches,  Tony Dungy, and Bill Belichick had more trips .

Today, Larry Johnson is a man without a team and possibly a career. Dwayne Bowe is now known in some circles as “Butterfingers Bowe”, and Derrick Johnson didn’t continue the streak for 2009 though when I’m bored I replay the TiVO of him running the two interceptions back for touchdowns during the Broncos game.  Herm Edwards, doesn’t even have a coaching job.

Anyway Addicts, what happened? Player demoralization? A matter of being a quart low on brain fluid such as LJ? The simple fact that a team might not have any other options but to depend on one player?  What happened to Herm? I haven’t written either Bowe or Johnson off, but why the current lull?

Losing. Its a problem for us today. Historically speaking, its always been a problem.

Of the ten former KC Chiefs coaches, only three left with a winning record. Hank Stram, ,Marty Schottenheimer,  and Dick Vermeil. Gunther left us even Stephen.

What can we learn from them?

Of the three, most consider Hank Stram the most successful, having taken the Chiefs to a total of two Superbowls, winning one. Marty Schottenheimer, one of the winningest regular season coaches in NFL history, had post season problems. Dick Vermeil took two of the three NFL teams he coached to Superbowls, but was unable to get KC there.

Of the three, Vermeil was my favorite, but I can’t argue with  the successes of Hank Stram, I think he was one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time.

In future Arrowhead Adventures we will look at the KC Chiefs head coaches,and examine  their successes and  failures.

But for now:

What about you Addicts? Who was your favorite KC coach? What attibutes of your favorite coach does Coach Haley need in order to bring winning back to KC?

Laniers helmet, currently displayed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

He was nicknamed “Contact” because of his ferocious tackling.  He was the first black middle linebacker in pro football history. In the 1969 Divisional playoff against the Jets, leading 6-3 in the fouth quarter, NY had a first and goal at the KC one yard line. ”They are not going to score!” yelled Contact.  “They are not going to score!”  Three straight plays later the Jets were held to a field goal. KC scored a touchdown on the next possession, and the road to the Superbowl was paved. The Chiefs went on to beat the Minnesota Vikings in Superbowl lV.

Lanier recalls that he followed the style of tackling at the time which was to use your head to hit the middle of the other players body.

Some say it was to protect Contact, some say it was to protect the opposing players, but for 11 seasons he wore this specially padded helmet created by the Chiefs equipment manager at the time.

While Lanier was a ferocious tackler, he was also fast, agile, and a very civil, disciplined player.

Willie Lanier was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

Want to see where Willie “Contact” Lanier played a good part of his NFL  career? Its still there. Waiting patiently for us to migrate to its parking areas for grilling, and fill its seats with red and gold jerseys.

Watch patiently, and you will see Willies name displayed proudly on the “Ring of Honor” .

Next time your eating your popcorn during halftime at Arrowhead, check out the Ring of Honor and remember that guys like Contact bled for the Chiefs and for the NFL.

Arthur Bryants, for my money, the best in the world.

It was a long year Addicts. The changes in the off season seemed promising, the crowds were there during the preseason,  my seats even moved down to the lower level, something that would not have been possible three seasons ago.

The loss in the season opener to the Raiders kind of put a damper on things, the clouds never really parted for the rest of the year.

Still, I had a blast.

There is no stadium like Arrowhead, and no team like the Chiefs.  And there never will be.

So without further adieu, I’ll launch my yearly TWENTY FIVE  THINGS I WITNESSED, SMELLED, ATE, AND WOKE UP TO AT ARROWHEAD IN 2009!!!

1. I sat in a drenching rain, protected only with my 99 cent Bass Pro pauncho, and watched the worlds biggest wet t-shirt contest on the jumbotron, and could think of no other place I’d rather be.

2. I watched wonderboy Matt Cassel limp off the field before the season even started, and wondered if we had another Brody Croyle on our hands.  And felt kind of sick to my stomach.

3. I saw an awesome flyover, and laughed with my fishing partner Jen who can throw the football farther  than most guys I know, and waited after the game for her to find a jumper for the dead battery in the rental we returned to after the game, and my faith in the Arrowhead crowd was once again reinforced as person after person stopped and asked if I needed help.

4. I played “peanut poker” in the aisle 23 rows from the field.

5. I leaned over the rail and watched a cocky Larry Johnson strut five feet from me before the game, with his shirt tail hanging out in his usual fashion and wanted to leap the rail and stangle him.

6. I went to the largest attended draft party in Arrowhead history, and met the new cheerleaders, and talked with the veterans, and posed with my favorite Jenna.

7. I saw Jamaal Charles walk five feet from me as I leaned over the rail before the game and smile and give me a head nod.

8. I saw a fight in the parking lot.

9. I walked behind two Raiders fans and talked trash as they pretended not to know I was there talking trash, with a hint a fear deep down inside of me.

10. I broke out in a drenching sweat as I approached the gate and realized I didnt remember bringing my ticket, then found it in my pants leg pocket of my cargo’s and then chugged my “Jack n Coke” and crushed the can.

11. I sat with my girl Lori in the parking lot after leaving the Cowboys game five minutes early in disgust, only to hear “TOUCHDOWN KAAAANSAS CITY” on the way to the car, and ate warmed up bbq and drank a “Jack n Coke”, and then got pissed all over again when we lost in overtime.

12. I heard a drunk sounding “Grigsby” predict a “Chiefs Win” an hour befor the Steelers game started and laughed my ass off.

13. I dragged myself to the Steelers game because nobody would buy my tickets, and watched them play like the championship team I wanted them to play like, then asked several fans in my section if we actually had won when the game was over. They assured me that indeed we had and I “high fived” till my hands were raw.

14. The back of my head was on the recieving end of a tailgaters errant pass, and I picked myself up off the pavement and laughed and ate a hamburger the thrower gave me  until the National Anthem started.

15. I woke up in an official NFL KC Chiefs chair that I had won in a golf tournament in the warm sun on the parking lot, and looked at my watch, and ate another hotdog, and went back to sleep.

16. I walked to the stadium in the middle of thousands of tailgaters, and remembered my “Arrowhead Surviver” days and knew in my heart the fans hadn’t changed and smiled.

17. I left my Larry Johnson jersey on the trunk of my car in disgust.

18. I found my Larry Johnson jersey I had left on my trunk , now on my hood, not where I had left it four hours earlier and smiled. You can’t give the damn things away anymore.

19. I ate some of the best BBQ in the world, Arthur Bryants, LLC’s, and tried to get some Oklahoma Joes but they close on Sunday.

20. I saw a drunk guy walk all the way down to the field rail, yell something undechipherable at the players, stagger half way back up the section, then throw up and collapse in the mess. The funny thing was nobody really paid attention.

21. I helped change a tire on the parking lot, then grabbed a spare Parrot Bay and headed on in to the game.

22. I just barely made it to the concourse restroom again this year. But this time JUST barely. I mean it was CLOSE.

23. I was upset to see the “Ring of Fame” had been removed, then happy to see it on the new HD ring that replaced it.

24. I looked over my shoulder as I drove away from the last game of the year, and once again wondered how many more years I would be doing this, and knew it would be as long as God blessed me with living in Chiefs County.

25. I made this list once again this year and realized that as usual, most of my adventures had nothing to do with the football game on the field, and everything to do with the best stadium, the best fans, and the best football  city in the NFL.

Like reading Arrowhead Addict? Want more? Well then why aren’t you following us at our NEW Twitter Account? What are you waiting for? Get your fix.

Some of us may remember (thankfully I don’t) the original squad was co-ed, This gave way to the all-female Chiefettes, who would make their debut in the 70s.

The name was changed to the Chiefs Cheerleaders in the 80s, and to my horror,  male cheerleaders were brought back for seven years. After that sad period , the co-ed program was scrapped, the squad once again became all female, the uniforms grew increasingly skimpier, and once again there was a reason for me to faithfully report to my beloved Arrowhead, even during the losing seasons.

As a regular attendee of the draft party at Arrowhead, I have found the Chiefs Cheerleaders to be friendly, beautiful, and intellectually stimulating . Many are students at local colleges and universities, and leave the squad upon graduation for bigger and brighter ambitions.

Many don’t think about it, but tough times for Chiefs fans mean even tougher times for the girls. It takes a lot of guts to get out on a field when you know the fans aren’t into the game.

Anyway, its Friday afternoon, you probably aren’t overly focused on your work duties, why not preview the 2010 Squad ?

NEXT WEEK….25 THINGS I WITNESSED, SMELLED, ATE, AND WOKE UP TO AT ARROWHEAD IN 2009!!!

Make sure you bang it on  AA Friday afternoons, thats my new regular time to post. I’ll cover Chiefs history and trivia, from the Cheerleaders to the Superbowl Championship team  and anything else that might come to mind. 

Arrowead Adventures is the perfect light read for the KC Chiefs fan and a great way to start the weekend.   

During the regular season my posts will cover the game day experience and will move to Mondays.  My seats have moved to field level row six, so expect some great game day photos as well as interviews and opinions from fans and KC CHIEFS staff.

Arrowhead Adventures starts today! See you there!

Of the 53 players on the Chiefs kickoff weekend roster in 2008, only seven joined the team prior to Herm Edwards arrival as coach in 2006. We started 2008 with more rookies than any other NFL team.  No need to remind you that 2008 was one of the worst years in Chiefs history. 2009 was not much better.  Important facts to reflect on, I think, as we once again enter a time of change.

What do you think Addicts?  What can we learn from this ?

1. Does anyone think Haley regrets his migration to KC?

2. Will he if the Cardinals win the Superbowl?

What do you think Addicts?