For many of you reading this, the prospect of taking a job or traveling for an extended period of time far from Chiefs nation mid-season is likely terrifying.

Fear not.

As an experienced expat fan, I am here to tell you that in the 21^st century it is not only easy to keep up with your team, but that the process of being a remote fan can be uniquely enriching. If it looks like you will be out of country for part or all of this season, here are some guidelines to staying in touch with the red and gold.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

1.) Pick your viewing locations with extreme discretion.

Chances are that if you are somewhere in Central America or Western Europe, there will be cable or satellite packages available that will get you most or all NFL games. But, if there’s no cheap way to pipe Arrowhead into your TV, you are likely going to have to find a place outside of your home away from home to watch the game. While there are inevitably plenty of places where games can be watched, finding a nice fit between you and your venue can be tricky. Basically, here are your options:

Sports Bars/Pubs

Unless you are in a remote village somewhere, chances are you are going to be somewhere near a pub that invariably hosts tons of expats jonesing for some of their home country sports. But, these places can be very hit-or-miss. In my experience, the most prevalent sports pubs are British-dominated joints where rugby and soccer take precedent over all else. If your NFL game of choice clashes with any major European sporting event, you are going to be out of luck. Even if it doesn’t, you will likely have to repeatedly explain to obnoxious rugby fans why “American footballers” wear “crash helmets,” why there are numbers painted on the “pitch” and why the “trainers” aren’t wearing fitted shirts and Prada glasses miming outrage on the side of the field, but are instead decked out in poorly fitting athletic gear mumbling stoically into headsets.

Casinos

If you are in a country that allows gambling, you will probably be able to find the game on at your nearest casino, however, again, these places don’t always provide the best atmosphere. I watched Super Bowl XLII at a mafia-run casino in St. Petersburg, Russia and it was actually a memorable, if odd, good time. Due to the time difference, it was a 3 a.m. kickoff and the casino bar was full of Giants fans that had been loitering around drinking since the early evening. It was a good mix of displaced compatriots but I lost all of my beer money after spending halftime at the roulette tables.

Embassy People

If all else fails, befriend some civil servants working (in theory) to serve your interests in your country of residence. If not the diplomats themselves, the marines guarding the embassies almost always have the hookup for American sports channels in their quarters. Note: This will also expose you to AFN, the Armed Forces Network, a channel thrown together by the Pentagon to bring U.S. TV to American troops, primarily those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. AFN can be its own sort of absurd treat, because, instead of normal commercials, the breaks in the game are filled with comical public service announcements urging grunts not to traffic drugs, pillage the homes of locals, sniff paint, or shake their babies when home on leave.

NFL Game Pass

If for whatever reason these options don’t shake out, there is always NFL Game Pass (A.K.A. the best thing that ever happened to me). For $250, you basically get every NFL game live and on demand with DVR controls. It even throws in the NFL Network and games from the past two seasons, and has a “condensed viewing” setting that skips over all of the empty time in a game, meaning you can breeze through a typical match in about an hour. Plus, if the time difference is inhospitable, you can always watch the game after the fact with the commercials already removed. Best of all — no box. It’s all over the internet, meaning you can log in to your account wherever you have a strong internet connection and/or a big screen. Also, even if your internet is a bit weak or inconsistent, it automatically increases and decreases the resolution to suit your connection. At its strongest, it puts out pretty good HD.

Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

2.) Try to start a Chiefs fan club in your country.

Because, why not? One of the nice things about being far away from Chiefs Nation is that it makes it much easier to be the biggest fans around. Trying to get KC fans together can be a great way to meet people and allows you to more easily overpower fans of less awesome sports in the pubs.

Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

3.) Convert foreigners to the magic of football.

This is in some ways tied to #2, but actually one of the most rewarding things about being a fan abroad is the ability to proselytize and convert infidels. Over the past few years, I have gotten dozens of non-Americans to watch football, and even created another KC superfan – a German dude who now never misses a Chiefs game, despite the fact the games often come on at 1 a.m. or later Monday morning local time. In the same ways that people talk about parenting being magical, being someone’s gateway to the sport can be a lot of fun. All they know about it is what you tell them. They are like piles of wet clay. You can mold them to love who you love and hate who you hate. Due to my efforts, the Red Army is growing internationally and will soon sweep the world (please do not use this quote out of context).

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

4.) Being an expat fan further engrains your fandom into your identity.

Having lived out of the U.S. for most of the last seven years, my ties to the Chiefs have actually grown, to a large degree because it keeps me feeling American. When you are separated from your native culture for a long time, you realize how much it means to be a true fan, to be a part of a larger society. In order to keep my hold of my tomahawk roots, I have become the designated Chiefs Superfan for the ESPN Football Today podcast (the best NFL show around, btw) and write this column because doing so makes me feel like I always have one foot planted firmly in my homeland.

Whether we’re talking Blues, Bluegrass, Soul, Pop, Jazz, Tejana, Rock, Country, Rap, Hip Hop, Protest, Alternative, Americana, or Kenny G, you name it, our music is our highest artform. It is the ultimate expression of everything that embodies our greatness, our ideas, our feelings, and our experience. Deny it not.

I continue after the continue.
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FanSided.com and Arrowhead Addict has partnered with FanSection to host a Facebook Salary Cap style fantasy league for readers of Arrowhead Addict . If you are unfamiliar with salary cap style football, there is no draft and you can alternate players on your team through out the season. The winner of this free league will get a $25 gift certificate to Team Fan Shop, and the player with the highest score across all FanSided sites will get a $300 AMEX gift certificate. Here is what you need to do to join:

Below are instructions on how to join this free league.

Step 2: Since this is not a public league, the link to join is hidden therefore you must click the link below after you have installed the application. CLICK HERE

From there click join and start drafting your team!

Governor Jay Nixon will announce on Thursday that a deal has been made with Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph as the location for the Kansas City Chief’s training camp.

Under the agreement, the Chiefs will remain at the location for at least 10 years and will contribute $10 million from sales tax incentives to help the college construct a new athletic facility on the campus. If the Chiefs don’t follow through, they would owe penalties to the state.

This will be the last year the Chiefs will be in River Falls, Wisconsin. Adam and I went up there last year to experience River Falls for the first time. We had a blast and suggest to any Chiefs fan to go up there if you can. This will be the last chance you have to get out of the miserable Missouri heat and enjoy Wisconsin in the summer. Just make sure to get a hotel room well in advance because Adam and I went through two states and couldn’t find one. Here is the Chiefs training camp schedule for this year and a link to River Falls site:

2009 CHIEFS TRAINING CAMP AND PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Thursday, July 30 Depart for Training Camp – River Falls, WI
Friday, July 31 Begin Training Camp – River Falls, WI
Saturday, Aug. 1 First Day of Practice – River Falls, WI
Saturday, Aug. 8 Family Fun Day – River Falls, WI
Saturday, Aug. 15 Kansas City vs. Houston – Arrowhead Stadium (7 PM CT)
Thursday, Aug. 20 Break Training Camp – River Falls, WI

Hot dogs can be cheap if you buy them at Sam’s or Costco, but make sure you match ‘em up with the same number of buns. Get plenty of paper towels to wrap the dogs in, some commercial sized condiments, and you’re set up.

Next you will want to name your stand.

We staffers might label it “ARROWHEAD ADDICT HOT DOGS”, or I might go with “Raiders Suck.” You might use the stand to promote your business or website, but you get the idea. Don’t put a price, don’t label them free, it’s the more fun if you keep people wondering, but the goal here is to give them away.

Finally, grill them, set out some condiments, and you’re in business.

What’s the point you might be asking?

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7

Great Prince song, good Brad Pitt movie, a digit hated by PETA and a number that haunted Chiefs fans during the Martyball years. Hopefully, Cassel will reverse the curse and 7 will be a number that Chiefs fans learn to love.

Why did Cassel pick the number 7? Probably because a bunch of nobodies have worn it for the Chiefs, most recently Casey Printers and Justin Medlock. Becoming the greatest No. 7 won’t be much of a challenge for him. I like the choice. 7 just feels right for our first franchise quarterback in what seems like seven decades.

I guess we can all go out and get our Matt Cassel jerseys now.

That’s not a life I chose for myself, I always kind of refused to live the “ordinary life.” I’ve always looked for adventures.

What is an ordinary life? Well that’s hard to define, but my guess is those who live one know exactly what I’m talking about and those who don’t also get my drift. Its doing something adventurous that most people wont ever do. Something that might be a little dangerous, not exactly following the rules. Something you will always remember.

Usual symptoms following such an incident are laughing so hard you cant speak your own name, running so fast you feel like your heart will explode from your chest, or finding yourself wide awake staring at the ceiling at 2 am wondering how you escaped with your life, or at least prosecution.

You don’t have to be a nut about it “like some of us AA staffers” (toilet seats around your neck , rides in the police cars) you can plan as many adventures or as few as you like.

But one thing I can promise, refusing to live an ordinary life can be liberating. And memories of adventures don’t wind up in flea markets, or salvage yards. And you can relive them at anytime, you don’t have to fire up the DVD. Just sit back in your cubicle, close your eyes, and enjoy. Some of the more creative adventures will even get you a certain amount of fame around the office.

If you make the choice, let me suggest the perfect place to start. Arrowhead Stadium.

Now is the time to start planning your adventures for the 2009 Chiefs season ! Keep an eye out for my future postings, and I will see what I can do to help. And in the mean time you can review my previous posting “Peanut Poker in the Peanut Gallery” to get you in the mood.

1. What are you eating/drinking for the big game? (black bean chili and cornbread)

2. The Boss rocks halftime this year, who would you like to see next year? (U2 is a logical choice, but Jay-Z would also be good considering things have been pretty pale lately other than Prince. Gotta be something something pretty popular that’s been around.)

3. Final score prediction? (I’m going to say Cardinals 27, Steelers 16)

Addicts, let’s here your answers to this trifecta…

For more Super Bowl coverage head over and check out official, up-to-date game previews from Nice Pick, Cowher and Raising Arizona.

>>
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	The Ebony Bird		Nice Pick, Cowher
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	Inside the Iggles		Raising Zona
. Don’t forget to check out our new Arrowhead Addict Chat room. It is open 24-7 and is the new place on AA to gather and chat with fellow Addicts. .

Addicts: Who do you think will win? Choose your winners and pick the scores.
(Winner gets a prize!)

Red Logo

Gold Logo

Cinder Logo

The Adam Special

The Zach Special

Ladies Red Ringer

We’ll get a logo up on the sidebar so you can order these at any time soon. Feel free to offer suggestions on future shirts (a Nigerian Nightmare one is coming for sure)…

Our friends over at Cufflinks.com are sponsoring this contest in which we will be giving away four sets of sweet cufflinks.

1. NFL Officially Licensed Kansas City Chiefs
2. NCAA Officially Licensed Kansas Jayhawks
3. NCAA Officially Licensed Kansas State Wildcats
4. NCAA Officially Licensed Missouri Tigers

To enter the contest follow these instructions in the comments below:

1. List which team you are going for.
2. Describe why you became a fan of that team and why you remain one of their biggest fans.

We will review the entries and there will be one winner for each team. These puppies retail at $50 and are very nice. I have a pair of my own that I’ll hopefully get to show off soon. Good luck. The other three sets are pictured after the jump.

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Our guy Dwayne Bowe is now giving away a pair of game-worn autographed cleats. To enter the contest head over to YardBarker. With everything that’s going on with the Chiefs, it’s great to have a young guy like D-Bowe who’s seemingly determined to still give as much back to the fans as he possibly can.

Not only was Dwayne Bowe one of a couple of Chiefs (and, yes, I mean two) who actually showed up last week on the field, he showed up for his community off of it as well. His “Bowe’s Bunch” charity is doing good things.

This past Sunday, I invited 10 children from the group to join me at our football game vs the Titans. We might not have won the game, but these kids won my heart. The kids were on the sideline during pre-game, cheering “The Show” on. After the game, I met with the kids and signed some autographs and then we had a serious talk where I spoke to them about respecting their elders and to never give up because better days will come.

For more on Bowe’s Bunch, head over to his blog on YardBarker. More on the newest Chief, Quinn Gray, here a little later…

Below is a question for you to answer…whoever posts the correct answer first will win an autographed pair of gloves from me, The Show!

QUESTION:

THROUGHOUT MY HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND NFL CAREER, WHAT WERE ALL OF THE JERSEY NUMBERS THAT I HAVE WORN? THESE JERSEY NUMBERS INCLUDE BOTH GAME JERSEYS AND ALL STAR GAME JERSEYS…..

Get on it, folks. I want those gloves coming back to the Addicts!

DFS Chiefs fans, where do you live and how do you cope? Direct TV? Mitch? Sports Bars? Trips back to K.C. and Arrowhead? The Addict?

Me, I’ll be rocking my red No. 27 as always, sitting in my command chair watching the Chiefs game and the Redzone Channel (during the commercial breaks). Meal-wise, I think I’m going with my speciality shrimp salad. If the meal gets us the win I’ll stick with it until it loses (pork chops lost last week). I also have a beard that I’m not shaving until we win. Please don’t turn Arrowhead Adam into Grizzly Adam, Chiefs.

What are your Chiefs gamday plans, superstituations and traditions?

This is unbelievable, fellow Chiefs fans. It’s starting to look like Bernard “Bonecrusher” Pollard isn’t going to be booed on the road too often. Here’s the link to Believe Merch, the Steelers shirt site that’s selling the shirt and celebrating Pollard’s season-ending hit on Tom Brady. They best be given B.P. some royalties. I don’t think name/trademark infringement would make him very happy. He hurt Brady on accident–just think what he could do on purpose. Just kidding, fellas.

(By the way, I think I’m going to holler at those guys and see if they’ll do some Chiefs shirts. I think a ton of us would order them. Those are some badass tees.)

(hat tip: Phin Phanatic)

I have been a lifelong (35+ years) Pats fan and I sincerely feel that Pollard’s hit wasn’t dirty. I wish Tommy a speedy recovery (I am in the torn acl/mcl club). With Brady’s well-known dedication to working out, I am optimistic that he will be ok for next year. Go Pats!!

There you have it–even Patriots fans don’t think Bernard Pollard‘s hit on Tom Brady was dirty.

Too many girls/guys that want to date you?

Too many channels on the tube?

Too many beers in the fridge?

Too much money in the bank?

Too many wins for our Chiefs?

In all seriousness, we are always open to feedback, and that’s what this A.A.D.Q. will be about. First, however, let me make a distinction.

The sites that inspired Arrowhead Addict were blogs and sites like Arrowhead Pride, Deadspin, Fanhouse and PFT, along with the coolest and most active film and political blogs. Those sites quenched my thirst for constant news and entertainment, from sunrise to shuteye. Arrowhead Addict was created to provide the same, but for Chiefs fans. A.A. is more Deadspin/PFT for Chiefs fans than it is Chiefs Planet or the Star’s message boards. We are a blog–not a message board.

Nonetheless, this site was created to have the exciting point-counterpoint discussion that begins in posts and leaks into the comment threads. Your comments are the lifeblood of this site. We know that. That’s where you guys take ownership of your site, your Addicthood. Please, please, please–keep it up! We love it.

On the other hand, we reach 1,500-2,000 Chiefs fans a day. That’s not good enough. 80,000 fans pack Arrowhead every Sunday, and at least half of them have access to a computer. Then there are the out-of-towners who can’t make the games. There is definitely room to grow. We want A.A. to be a place Chiefs fans HAVE to check. When they wake up, during lunch, when they get home and before they hit the sack–a handful of times a day, everyday. To do that, we have to provide non-stop quality content, because in the blogosphere “content is king.”

At the same time, because we want to be all things to all Chiefs fans, that is why we have our message boards. To improve our boards, our boards now have a unique domain name that will direct to the Chiefs section–AddictBoards.com. There is also a “Forums” link at the top of our site that links directly to the Chiefs boards. To help get this going, we are looking for moderators to run the show over there. Drop me a line or reply in the comments if you’d like to become a moderator.

Never fear, we still encourage you guys to comment until your hands hurt, even when it’s off-topic. But our boards are a place where you can start conversations about any topic you want, at any time. So, hopefully by expanding our staff and content, and improving our boards, we’ve addressed this issue and will be one step closer to appeasing everybody. But we still want to know…

What can we do to improve the site? Let us know, Addicts…

• Michael Ash of WPI
• Nick Athan of WPI
• Adam Best of Arrowhead Addict
• Darren Carter of WPI
• Pat Clifton of WPI
• Topher Dean of WPI
• Chris Thorman of Arrowhead Pride
• C.E. Wendler of WPI

Of course, I wanted to represent all of my fellow Addicts. I’ll let you be the judge on whether I did or not. Here’s my squad, listed round by round:

1. RB LaDanian Tomlinson
2. RB Ryan Grant
3. WR Reggie Wayne
4. WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh
5. RB Willie Parker
6. RB Earnest Graham
7. WR Calvin Johnson
8. RB Thomas Jones
9. QB Brett Favre
10. TE Chris Cooley
11. WR Hines Ward
12. QB David Garrard
    
13. WR Nate Burleson
14. K Phil Dawson
15. Seattle Seahawks Defense

Sure, life is easy when you pick first, but I think I did OK. Thomas Jones was on the board way too late, so I picked him. Hey, you can never have too many running backs. I was also stoked to get Calvin Johnson in round seven, Chris Cooley in round ten and Nate Burleson, Seattle’s No. 1 WR, in round 13.

Addicts, what do you think of the team that will be representing our site?

First off, I want to give Bob Gretz some props for his recent Bobby Sippio article. Gretz sometimes comes off as King Carl‘s P.R. puppet, but he was as honest and on the mark as he could have been with this one. And, yes, I am Sipp-ing the Sippio Kool-Aid as always. But I think every Chiefs fan should be. Who cares if he’s slow? I don’t. Why? Because, speaking of wrestlers, he’s got the things that all pro wrestlers have–heart, guts and swagger. Jeff Webb and Samie Parker have answer “D”–none of the above. It boggles my mind why any Chiefs fan would root against this overachiever with the heart of a lion. It just makes absolutely no sense to me. Then again, it’s a mad world.

For one day and one day only, Bob Gretz is Bobby the Brain.

Speaking of wrestling, I grew up on the stuff. I don’t watch it any longer, but I have fond memories of Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, Jake “The Snake” and The Ultimate Warrior. News broke earlier this year that rapper Eminem is training to join the WWE (which someone reminded me of today). This got me thinking about which current Chiefs would make the best wrestlers? You can read what I came up with after the jump (where’s Kyle Turley when you actually need him?)…

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What do you think of the new Madden and how the Chiefs were portrayed? What system do you play on?

Which current Chief would you want to kick it with? Let us know!

One of the many negative aspects of last summer’s visit to Chiefs camp of NFL Films and the Hard Knocks crew was that the show glorified a wide receiver of rather average talents by the name of Bobby Sippio.

What? Average? I have seen more out of the guy in preseason action than I have ever out of Jeff Webb (I’ve always found it ironic that a guy who can’t catch well is named Webb). I also totally think he’s shown enough to land somewhere else if we blow it. The Chiefs aren’t the alpha and omega, aren’t the end all, when it comes to personnel decisions. We do screw up, and actually we screw up quite a bit.

Sippio isn’t fast. It’s why he was playing in the Arena League when he joined the Chiefs. It’s why he doesn’t get more playing opportunities.

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“I finally get in the game…finally get thrown to…go off…catch the game-winning TD…AND I GET STUCK CELEBRATING WITH WILL FREAKIN’ SVITEK? Route 71? That shit is whack.”

Come on, Addicts, hit us with your best shot! Caption this pic…

OK, finally, here is my Arrowhead Addict 2008 Arrowhead Tailgate Mix. Go Chiefs!

DISC ONE:

1. “Iron Man” – Black Sabbath
2. “Protect Ya Neck” – The Wu-Tang Clan
3. “Baba O’Riley” – The Who
4. “Purple Haze” – Jimi Hendrix
5. “Bulls on Parade” – Rage Against the Machine
6. “Kashmir” – Led Zeppelin
7. “Bombs Over Baghdad” – Outkast
8. “L.A. Woman” – The Doors
9. “Corduroy” – Pearl Jam
10. “House of the Rising Sun” – Animals
11. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” – The Beatles
12. “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” – Kanye West
13. “One Big Holiday” – My Morning Jacket
14. “Head Like a Hole” – Nine Inch Nails
15. “She Sells Sanctuary” – The Cult

DISC TWO:

1. “Start Me Up” – The Rolling Stones
2. “Knocked Up” – Kings of Leon
3. “La Grange” – Z.Z. Top
4. “99 Problems” – Jay-Z
5. “Walk This Way” – Aerosmith
6. “American Woman” – The Guess Who
7. “Give It Away” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
8. “Scenario” – A Tribe Called Quest
9. “Rebel Rebel” – David Bowie
10. “Outshined” – Soundgarden
11. “Would?” – Alice In Chains
12. “Fearless” – The Bravery
13. “Get By” – Talib Kweli
14. “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – Devo
15. “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” – The White Stripes
16. “Hurricane” – Bob Dylan

I tried to keep it as mainstream as possible, without cutting out any quality. I also tried to put together a mix that would pump you up, yet not scare the bejesus out of some fans. Hopefully, all sorts of Chiefs fans can enjoy this mix. (Update: I added a second disc for your enjoyment. A.) Because the first disc was one song too long; and B.) Because you can’t keep the Stones off of any true tailgate collection.)

If you haven’t gotten your mix in yet, go ahead and submit it, as we will be featuring the readers’ versions this weekend!

Ten Reasons Why the Chiefs are Cooler Than Da Bears:

10. Our players don’t go all Alec Baldwin on people in text messages. Brian Urlacher, I’m looking at you.

9. Who pays Devin Hester a bajillion dollars to be their No. 1 WR? A desperate, desperate Jerry Angelo, that’s who.

8. The failed Cedric Benson project was more recent than the failed Ryan Sims one.

7. Lance Briggs getting his “drive” back isn’t a good thing.

6. Greg Olsen. Looks like He-Man, plays like She-Ra. He’s no Tony Gonzalez.

5. Brandon Lloyd and Kevin Jones were the big offseason additions? I wouldn’t have those guys on my fantasy team if I were in a 20-team league.

4. Will Ricky Manning Jr. have more arrests or picks this year? Tough call. Very tough.

3. Rex Grossman.

2. Kyle “Neckbeard” Orton is their starting quarterback? No wonder Rex is still on the roster.

1. Bears fans can’t even tailgate? So much for being Superfans.

“The Mummy: Attack of the Undead Liberian“

Addicts, go ahead now and hit us with your best shot–caption this pic!

Addicts, if you could only go to one Chiefs’ home game at Arrowhead in ’08, which home game would it be?

David Cook may have gone Hollywood, but he didn’t forget his roots. Give him one hell of an ovation when he sings the National anthem at the Chiefs‘ home opener, because he’s a real fan. You wear those colors no matter where you go, no matter what our record is. I got so annoyed last year when I was wearing my Chiefs jacket at Lids in the mall (this was in Springfield) around Christmas time, and some dumb soccer mom told her son that he didn’t want a Chiefs beanie because they weren’t any good. Big props to Cook for keeping it real–you’ve earned your arrowhead!

(hat tip to commenter randy5k.)

For all you American Idol fans, especially the ladies, David Cook will sing the National anthem at the Chiefs‘ home opener. From MyFox:

The Kansas City Chiefs announced on Tuesday that American Idol champion and Blue Springs, Missouri native David Cook will perform the National Anthem on September 14th when the Chiefs host the Oakland Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium. David will perform the anthem with his younger brother, Andrew Cook.

I must say, David is a helluva lot cooler than any other A.I. winner. His influences include Pearl Jam, a Best Brothers’ favorite, and he performed classic tracks like “Billie Jean” and “Baba O’Riley” on the show.

Anyway, this is a hard one, but we can come up with something. Croyle Tide (a play on Roll Tide)? The Rifle (his canon arm and love for hunting)? 4,000 B.C. (wishful thinking?)? Bama Ray (better than Priest’s Blu-Ray, and a play on gamma ray) is probably my favorite of the ones I came up with. That’s all I’ve got right now.

Let us hear it, Addicts! What should Brodie Croyle’s nickname be?

What is your Ultimate Arrowhead Tailgate Mix CD?

The NFL could legalize the use of HGH, steroids, artificial limbs and handguns for the home team at Arrowhead Stadium this season and the Chiefs would still struggle to win four games in 2008.

Holy hyperbole run amok! Man, Jason Whitlock needs to slow his roll a little. The Chiefs do have some holes, but we also have a lot of talent. We also have an easy schedule. We will win four games no problem. Not many more, but definitely four.

Streaming live over on NFL.com! Finally, Chiefs‘ legend Emmitt Thomas gets into the NFL Hall of Fame. One more Thomas to go! Congrats, Emmitt. We’ll be watching…proudly. Fred Dean is on now, Darrell Green is next, and then Thomas. At least that is what the schedule indicates.

Update: Actually, unfortunately, the schedule was wrong. Thomas has already gone as of 7:00 PM CST. We will pull video of this as soon as it is available.

Throughout my football career, I have learned that I have to take this opportunity that God has blessed me with and run with it. I am determined now more than ever to succeed and help my team push forward and win and always perform as one. I am excited about the season and about the future.

Those words should be music to all Chiefs fans ears. This guy may have some of the swagger that the NFL’s diva receivers have, but I think he’s staying humble. The Show is going to be the hottest ticket in town this fall. Even if Fatlock thinks it’s going to be boring. What does he know about? BBQ? Buffets? Bonjanglers? Screw him.

(hat tip: UW-RF…apparently, the defense looked great today)

Update: Apparently, he did get an actual gift from fans. From WPI:

Chiefs fans greeted him with a cake after practice. Don’t eat the whole thing, Glenn.

“I’m gonna run that $51 million out of your fat ass! Run, rookie, run!”

Go ahead–take your crack at captioning this fantastic training camp snapshot…

(hat tip: Warpaint Illustrated)

Why You Should Root For Them: The Chiefs have a fanatical following in Kansas City, where everyone wears red on Sundays and businesses shut down during football games. That kind of atmosphere and community is hard to resist as a football fan. Additionally, the Chiefs have tight end Tony Gonzalez, who, in addition to supporting a vegan lifestyle, is one of the games most charitable souls when it comes to volunteer work and monetary contributions.

Why You Shouldn’t Root For Them: The Chiefs are coached by Herm Edwards, the Ray Nagin of the New York Jets. While I believe that the Jets are better off with Eric Mangini, I loathe Edwards for the way he fled the team while it was in ruins, in the middle of his contract, and following weeks of public reassurance that he wouldn’t give up on the flailing team. And his earnest persona as the island of moral character in the NFL is a joke.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t include this part:

Potential Boyfriends: Tony Gonzalez, Larry Johnson, Dwayne Bowe, Glenn Dorsey

Hey, if us dudes can cut up cheerleaders, Kelli Croyle, October Gonzalez and Rachael “I’m Staring at the Teleprompter, Everybody Else is Staring at My Boobs” the Fantasy Sports Girl, then the ladies need to be able to do the same with the players. Totally down with that. I must admit, however, I was a little surprised to see Swamp Thing on her list. More pushin’ for the cushion, I suppose. Go check out her site for the full preview.

We were discussing the possibility of the Chiefs introducing a black alternate jersey the other day, and it’s a tough call. I say if it’s only once a year, yeah, go for it. I like the Giants‘ (red) and Bears‘ (orange) alternate jerseys, and both of those teams are older than the Chiefs for all the purists out there. It would give a shiny new look to our youth infusion.

Do you want the Chiefs to add an alternate black jersey to wear periodically, like the one the team sells at its gift shop? One game a year? More often? Or are you a purist who says NEVER?

Double D:

If LJ gets hurt again or for some reason doesn’t perform, I would look for Jamaal Charles to come in and turn some heads. I’ll also go with Kevin Robinson as the dark horse ST surprise by winning the #1 KR/PR spot & perhaps also come in and catch a big pass or two on offense.

Jeremy Riverside CA:

My Surprise started of the year: Tyler Thigpen, QB!!!!!!!!!!

SeanBCool:

Jamaal Charles is one I’m going to watch. I liked him a lot in college, and he definitely has the physical ability. As far as former Texas RBs go, I just hope that Charles is more like Ricky Williams and less like Cedric Benson talent-wise. I hope he’s not like either one of them behavior-wise. I think it’s time to run a backfield-by-committee sort of offense. It worked so well with the Priest Holmes/Larry Johnson double-headed monster. Why not just plug in another Texas speed back? Besides, I think LJ’s carries need to be limited a little bit to preserve his durability.

Will Franklin is another. I’ve been rooting for Bobby Sippio since we acquired him, and I still hope to see him get playing time, but there’s some reason why the AFL star hasn’t caught a single NFL pass with wither team he’s been a part of. Will Franklin was on a team that produced at least 30 points in every game they played (except maybe the last one against UGA, I can’t remember) and he was a big part of that. I definitely think Franklin could be the speed to compliment Dwayne Bowe’s size.

Brian Johnston is almost guaranteed to get at least some playing time this year, or at least I hope so. I’m really interested in seeing what he can do.

KC:

I like Morgan the safety out of NC State. I like Pollard better on the special teams and first backup safety He really looked good at the public practice. I like his instincts better than Pollard’s hard hitting.

(more…)

16. Kansas City Chiefs – Clark Hunt: I keep hearing that the man who succeeded his late father Lamar 19 months ago is a shrewd dude with star quality; then, perplexingly, I look up and see team president Carl Peterson in his luxury suite, seemingly as entrenched as ever. That could change after this season, given Hunt’s comments after last year’s 4-12 campaign that “I expect us to at least compete for a playoff spot” in ‘08. (The Chiefs’ last postseason victory was in the ‘93 season, Peterson’s fifth on the job.) Hunt pledged $125 million toward a $375 million Arrowhead Stadium renovation that should be completed by 2011, which may be one reason he has come off as a relatively cost-conscious boss to some of his more aggressive peers.

Where would you rank Clark Hunt among the NFL’s owners?

Peterson said the Chiefs are exploring selling naming rights to the new Arrowhead, which would bring in revenue, but he said Arrowhead would still be incorporated in any new name.

I’d rather King Carl and Co. just leave the name as Arrowhead Stadium, but if the Chiefs have to mess with it to rake in some extra dough at least they have the sense to incorperate “Arrowhead” into the new name. I’m not real happy about all of this anyway, but I would have been absolutely seething pissed if the new name was just like Wal-Mart Stadium or something. Long live Arrowhead!

Outside of being a Broncos, Chargers or Raiders fan, how can any real football fan actually hate the Chiefs? Especially “a seven-week old embryo?” We haven’t won jack since 1969, yet we still boast arguably the best fans in the NFL. It would be like hating the Cleveland Browns or something. Just ridiculous. Here’s an excerpt:

I realize I’m not even a fetus yet, but I already hate the Kansas City Chiefs. I realized it right off the bat; there’s no chance I’ll ever think two shits of this organization. Their team is boring, their uniforms are boring, and their city might as well be named Bordopolis. Did you like that? I came up with that yesterday.

Considering I was in Kansas City when I was not even a fetus yet, and was born a Chiefs fan in St. Luke’s hospital in K.C. on December 18, 1978, yeah, I take offense. I hope they slap that ass extra hard when you come out, you little shit. Oh well, he’s obviously pre-destined to be a Dallas Cowboys fan anyway.

Oh, and what’s wrong with our uniforms? They are classic. I love our unis. And Bordopolis? He better work on his material before he gets to grade school. I reckon he’d get his ass kicked for saying something like that on the playground.

General Chiefs question to debate…

Which number will be greater at the end of the season: LJ rushing yards or D Bowe receiving yards?

Beautiful question. My knee-jerk reaction was that Larry Johnson better easily have more rushing yards than Dwayne Bowe has receiving yards, or else our Chiefs will be in deep shit. Upon further review, I still feel that way. Conservatively, I’m calling for 1,600 to 1,100 yards, barring any injuries. Either could have more, but to post numbers better than that their offensive teammates will really have to step it up. That’s iffy at best right now.

So, more yards: L.J. by ground or D-Bo by air? Let us hear it, Addicts!