Chiefs History And An Anniversary
By merlin
Dick Raphael-USA TODAY Sports
Ah the summer doldrums. This is the worst time of year for a football blog. All over the net, people are trying to come up with something to talk about in a time period where the news is very barren. Shane Summers has been bleeding out his take on an all-time Chiefs team. That rang a bell with me. It took me back to the very first pair of articles I ever wrote for Arrowhead Addict. So I did some digging. May 29th, 2008 I posted my very first article on AA. It was my take on the all-time Chiefs defense. It might be fun to look back and compare to what Shane has coming our way. I did cover the offense a bit later. So, what does this mean? Not much, only I have started my sixth year writing for Arrowhead Addict. There have been lots of changes since then. I am the longest serving staff member here. Along with DD and Randy, we are the only holdovers from the Adam Best era of AA. Adam, Paddy does a great job, but I still miss you and your brother Harpo, I mean Zach.
If you are a loyal reader of Pro Football Talk, you know what is going on over there. If not, you should be reading it. They are filling their holes with a bit of all-time honor for each team. They are calling it Mount Rushmore and fans can vote. The panel also selects four names per team to be honored. It’s a fun take on history and I am a sucker for football history. The problem with fan voting, however, is that it’s skewed towards more recent players. So, I have been putting My thumb on the scale a bit and voting for people like Dick “Night Train” Lane and Bronco Nagurski. The Chiefs voting hasn’t begun, but I thought it would be fun to toss out my ballot for discussion. The Chiefs will be an interesting case, since the best years were the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Here is my ballot, in no particular order.
Lamar Hunt – Simply put, if it wasn’t for Lamar, there would be no Chiefs and no AFL. There is a reason why the AFC Championship Trophy is named after Lamar Hunt. I know I said there was no order to my list, but Lamar is #1 and it’s not even close. I hope enough fans recognize his contributions to honor him properly.
Len Dawson – Super Bowl MVP, only Chief Quarterback to win the Super Bowl for the Chiefs and still the face of the Chiefs and Chiefs history. Lenny should make it easily onto Mount Rushmore. He is still visible enough for the current fans to connect to him.
Tony Gonzalez – Even though I like to skew older, I can’t leave him off. He is an all-time great tight end and the best player to play for the Chiefs in a very long time.
Bobby Bell – I fully expect the fans to vote Derrick Thomas here and that would be a big mistake. Derrick was a great player, but he was the third best linebacker in Chiefs history. That’s right, not first, not second, but third. I will put it this way. Bobby Bell was the best player ever to play for the Chiefs, period. Bobby Bell could do it all, he could rush, tackle, intercept and even return an on-side kick for a touchdown. On a team loaded with talent, Bobby Bell was the first Chief elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is a great tribute from the NFL Network on the best linebacker corps ever to suit up for the Chiefs.
Ok Addicts, that’s my ballot. Who do you put on your Chiefs Mount Rushmore and why?