Arrowhead Adventures: Something Is Different!

Something was different the last time I saw a game at Arrowhead, Addicts. For one thing, Arrowhead was full. Full of screaming fans dressed in red.  And it was LOUD. Loud enough to once again claim the title of loudest stadium in the NFL. On that particular Monday night,  the loudest stadium in the world. Loud enough to make a normally cool, collected Phil Rivers throw a Larry Johnson diaper tantrum.

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When a running play was called, I felt like we could score. When the other team kicked, I felt like we could run the ball all the way back for six. It didn’t just seem possible, but probable.

Before the game, if the GM chose to address the crowd on the field, I didn’t feel he would be boo’d off the field!

Finally, it was an odd comfort to feel that the quarterback that started the game was going to be the quarterback  that walked off the field with a victory, not carried off in agonizing pain.

And if all else failed, if all else failed Addicts, I felt it was possible that if we needed to try for three points, three points were in the bag!

Traveling  to the game was different too. When I got to the stadium, there was no place to park. Fans were dancing to loud music with smiles on their faces, not just going through the motions in a futile  attempt to resurrect that old dead friend formerly known as “the greatest tailgating venue in the NFL.”

Simple things, I know. Things most teams take for granted. Things teams expect. But the thing is, in 2008, all of these things were gone. Gone for me, gone for the KC Chiefs, gone for the greatest NFL fans in the world.

How long will this new era last? I don’t know Addicts.

But I do know we must cherish it while it lasts.

This Sunday will find me crawling out of bed at 5:30 A.M., driving to meet my buddy Kent , then on to the greatest NFL stadium in the world,  host to the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs.

And for the first season in too many years to count, I’m damn excited.