Sometimes I stop by the library on my lunch break at work. Yesterday I happened to see a children’s book about the history of my beloved Kansas City Chiefs laying out.

“Well, that’s pretty cool,” I told myself, and grabbed it.

The last sentence I read was this:

“You can always depend on the Kansas City Chiefs. They will always be the loudest stadium in the NFL. They will always have one of the most exciting players in the league. Teams will always fear playing at Arrowhead.”

Wow…

Those are words that will turn a crappy day at work into a great day to be alive pretty quickly. That day they most certainly did.

Our Kansas City Chiefs. Our Arrowhead. Always the most exciting!

I shall never forget the day I saw Dick Vermeil take the field wearing the Kansas City Chiefs colors and taking command of our team in 2003.  He hadn’t exactly set the world on fire the previous two seasons, but something about this one was different.

Priest Holmes. Trent Green. Dante Hall.

Truly three of the league’s most exciting players.

Every time Dante got his hands on the ball, every single time, I knew he could take it all the way.

Teams feared coming to Arrowhead that year. Our nine game winning streak and 80,000 screaming fans game after game after game gave them good reason to.

Those 80,000 fans just like me made Arrowhead hands down the loudest and most exciting NFL stadium in the world.

Yep, those words changed my day.

But it didn’t last like it should have.

You see, I don’t believe in my heart they hold true anymore. … [visit site to read more]

Always Isn’t Always Anymore - Arrowhead Addict - Arrowhead Addict - A Kansas City Chiefs Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more

The 1969 Kansas City Chiefs: in my humble opinion, the best Super Bowl team ever. Many people assume that the Kansas City Chiefs only played in Arrowhead, which is not true, of course.

Municipal Stadium was the original home for our beloved team.

She was over forty years old when Lamar Hunt brought his Texans to Kansas City.

A blue collar atmosphere, which the players especially loved, was the reputation she had.

Both teams sat on the same side of the field, as the Chiefs felt that was an advantage over confused visitors who were not used to the dual sport setup.

There were not many corporate seats at Muni. The fans were guys that were used to throwing their lunches under the truck seat before they headed out to construction jobs. Many were farmers whose tailgating food consisted of four-inch-thick ham sandwiches made with freshly baked bread.

The corporate types that did attend, from such companies as Western Auto, brought their eats from Arthur Bryants, just down the street.

The games in Kansas City were blacked out. Period.  Families stayed in motel rooms on the edges of the blackout areas just to watch their beloved Chiefs battle opposing teams.

Teams in the 1960′s didn’t just get nervous when they came to Kansas City. They felt fear. Real fear.

Of course, football was different back then.

Damn good players made $20,000 a year. Lesser-skilled players could make more at regular jobs and worked at car dealerships during the offseason. My friend and fishing partner, a Kansas City policeman at the time, pulled Otis Taylor over for running a stop sign. “Please have a valid driver’s license, please have a valid driver’s license” he told himself as he walked to the ten year old Plymouth that Otis drove. The license was produced, no tickets were issued, and both parties went on their merry 1960′s Kansas City way.

In the days of Municipal stadium,  ACL injuries were permenant. Men were crippled for life on the playing fields of the 1960′s and early seventies. Men, such as Stone Johnson, even died.

Lamar Hunt and Kansas City soon moved on to the Arrowhead we love today. The Truman Sports complex was the first sports complex to have both a baseball and football facility side by side, a testament to our city’s love for sports that many envied, and still envy even today, as constructing a complex akin to ours is a near impossibility in today’s economy for most venues.

Kansas City went to the Superbowl twice while playing at Municipal stadium.

The early success the Kansas City Chiefs enjoyed there just hasn’t been recaptured, though the nineties came close.

Sometimes when I’m laying back in my chair on a lazy August afternoon at Arrowhead, especially when a few empty cans of a certain malt beverage litter my perimeter, I close my eyes and imagine I’m at the old Municipal stadium with my dad. As we sit in old wooden chairs on the field, I can see Otis Taylor, Jan Stenerud, Willie Lanier, and Len Dawson take the field for the longest NFL game played to date, on December 25, 1971. It was the last time the Chiefs would ever compete at 22nd Street and Brooklyn. … [visit site to read more]

Kansas City Chiefs Superbowl History: Municipal Stadium - Arrowhead Addict - Arrowhead Addict - A Kansas City Chiefs Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more

Intangibles. NFL scouts know exactly what it means, but few– if any– can describe it. Though it’s one of the least understood NFL rating factors, it is universally considered one of the most important.

The players’ intangibles.

Howie Long may have said it best: “I don’t know what it is but I know it when I see it.”

And so it goes.

I’m convinced that for a player to succeed in the NFL he must have those intangibles. Many Chiefs players in the past have certainly had it. Some currently active players on the Kansas City roster have it as well. Some do not.

I certainly think the great Len Dawson had those intangibles. Tony Gonzalez has them. No question Derrick Thomas had more intangibles than any Chief I can think of.

But what about current players?

I don’t think Matt has them. With Matt, they seem to come and go. Dwayne Bowe could use more some days. Jamaal Charles has all he needs, if that is possible. Thomas Jones may have had them, but he doesn’t anymore.

Tamba Hali has a goodly amount. Kyle Orton may, if he is given a chance to play on a team that welcomes him. He didn’t enjoy that welcome feeling with Chicago or Denver so I don’t feel he has had a chance to display them yet. I hope, somehow, we give him the chance to do that in Kansas City.

Good God, I can say without hesitation, that Priest Holmes had them. I could feel those intangibles every time I sat in my seats at Arrowhead and watched him sail high over a defensive line.

Training camp can be a good time to evaluate a player’s intangibles if you are a simple tailgater like me. Terrence Copper appeared to have them during his camps. It never appeared to me that Brodie Croyle did in any of his.

Coaches can have intangibles, though I’m not sure they are used in any rating system for them. … [visit site to read more]

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Arrowhead Anxiety! Change in the Chiefs front office! Former employees express displeasure at the organization! Thirty year employees let go!

It’s news nobody including your Arrowhead Adventurer likes to hear.

But the truth of the matter is, we haven’t been to a Superbowl in over forty years. And once again the Chiefs end a season with a losing record and no clear plan that this Arrowhead Adventurer knows of to change much. Maybe the employees that have been with the company when it doesn’t succeed should be replaced by employees who might help the company achieve its goals.

So I read the  Kent Babb article with a mixture of sadness, empathy, but also excitement.

Scott Pioli is serious about change! … [visit site to read more]

If Things Don’t Change They Remain The Same - Arrowhead Addict - Arrowhead Addict - A Kansas City Chiefs Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more