The Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders! A more beautiful bunch of girls would be hard to find. I don’t believe a more dedicated bunch can be found in the NFL (my unbiased, professional opinion).
Long ago our cheerleaders made me a promise. If I would make the three hour trip to Arrowhead, they would be there waiting for me.
Snow, sleet, rain, subzero temperatures. I have seen them all in my adventures at Arrowhead.
So have they.
If I’m cold, they are colder. If I’m wet from the driving rains, they are wetter. If I am depressed from unbelievably bad on-field performances, they are even sadder.
And on and on and on.
The thing I sometimes think about as I sit in my seat at Arrowhead is the sacrifices they have to make to be on our field.
A few extra pounds and I just loosen my belt. A few extra pounds for our cheerleaders could mean the end of their careers.
Constant workouts and practices, I imagine. All this while juggling busy college schedules, raising children and being housewives.
I’m free to express my true feelings at Arrowhead; this is America after all.
Yet fumble after fumble, missed field goal after missed field goal. Interception after interception, these brave girls just keep cheering.
“Get that dumbass off the field!” my buddies and I may scream.
Yet the cheerleaders keep smiling and waving.
The feature photo on this post is one of my favorite Arrowhead pictures.
The beautiful cheerleader is so happy to be there. You can’t fake that. She isn’t.
The crowd behind her is, too. Each and every one of those 75,000 people knows how lucky they are to be in the greatest NFL stadium in the world. They all have problems, like we do. But for three hours or so those problems will all be gone, replaced by smells of hot dogs, bratwurst and fresh cold beer.
Sure the play can be bad at times. It can also be good. Really good. Sometimes it can be the best in the world.
We are all the same at Arrowhead. The business owner worth millions can paint his face and high five the unemployed factory worker sitting next to him.
The most exciting win I can remember in recent history was when we kicked the hell out of the World Champion Green Bay Packers last year. We did it with a new coach and a transient quarterback.
And we did it with the support and confidence of the best NFL cheerleaders in the league.
The Dallas Cowboys are frequently called “America’s Team.”
I say bullshit. America’s team is the stadium that sells season tickets for $25 a game. Not the team with a ten-gazillion-dollar stadium that the working American can’t afford tickets to.
The Kansas City Chiefs are America’s team. The Kansas City Chiefs cheerleaders are America’s cheerleaders.
Thank you, girls, for keeping your promise to me so many years ago.
I’ll be there for you, too. Game after game after game.