65 Toss Power Trap Productions: Something The Chiefs Have Done Right
It’s pretty easy to write blog posts about what’s wrong with the Kansas City Chiefs these days. Once upon a time, I tried to focus 100% of my writing about the team on the positive. My thought was that there were plenty of people focusing on the problems so why not shed some light on the good too. For the past month I’ve abandoned that practice and rightfully so. The Chiefs have been so bad that they haven’t deserved anything good to be said about them. That still may be the case, but frankly it’s starting to become too depressing to follow this team. So I’ve gone out of my way today to try and be a little more upbeat. Earlier today I had a post about the talent I still see on the roster, but that’s about all the positive I could come up with for the product on the field. So now I’m going to focus on the one thing I think the current Chiefs administration has done right off the field: the videos put out by 65 Toss Power Trap Productions.
For new KC fans, 65 Toss Power Trap is the famous play that coach Hank Stram called up in the Chiefs lone Super Bowl win. The iconic NFL Films clip of Stram calling the play and celebrating after it worked is one of the great historical clips in the history of the NFL. So it’s a fitting name for the video production team for the Kansas City Chiefs not just because of the history with the Chiefs Super Bowl win, but the history of that NFL Films clip itself.
The current administration has at times dropped the ball with fan relations. When you have a poor product on the field and the General Manager and owner are no where to be found things are going to turn ugly. The added stigma of the “hush hush” Patriot Way and the drama of Kent Babb’s “Arrowhead Anxiety” piece only fuel those flames. Since the only person that talks to the media on a regular basis is the coach and the “Patriot Way” decrees that the coach isn’t allowed to give out any useful information, fans aren’t left with anything but their own feelings of frustration and anger when things are bad, and right now things are REALLY bad.
The one thing coming out of One Arrowhead Drive that the Chiefs can hang their hat on are the quality videos put out by 65 Toss Power Trap Productions, specifically the “Chiefs Kingdom” series. If you haven’t seen any of these episodes I encourage you to watch them. Since they are centered on featuring Chiefs fans, they can be a source of pride in what it means to be a Chiefs fan even when the product on the field isn’t something we are taking much pride in.
The upcoming episode this weekend is on the legendary group of Chiefs fans/ambassadors the Red Coaters. Last week they featured a KC fan that has opened up a KC style BBQ joint (and Chiefs hangout) in the Pacific Northwest. They have also featured KC fans that survived the Joplin tornado, the amazingly talented Chiefs artist Chris Sembower (I have one of his pictures as my screen saver), and Chiefs fans/actors/comedians Rob Riggle and Paul Rudd, just to name a few of my personal favorites.
Do these videos show off the Chiefs organization in a good light? Of course they do; they’re produced by the team. However, these videos aren’t just “Rah Rah” pro-Chiefs propaganda. They show the heart and soul of KC Chiefs fans and right now the great fans are about all that KC has going for it.
So if the Chiefs have you feeling down and you aren’t having much fun following this team I encourage you to take some time and watch an episode or two of “Chiefs Kingdom.” It’s about the only quality product coming out of Arrowhead these days.