Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to the NFL, rook.
For many rookies, their first “welcome to the league” moment revolves around a big hit as they aimlessly run around on special teams, or something of that nature.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ rookies got it much worse though. They were hit with the popcorn treatment from the vets. They were welcomed to the Chiefs.
FanSided senior editor Josh Sanchez documented the brutal prank in his recent article:
"For Chiefs rookies, they received a rude awakening when they made their way to their vehicles and found their rides filled with popcorn, dish soap and laundry soap. Of course, when you see some of the wild haircuts that a few rookies around the league received, having to clean out your car isn’t too bad."
Chiefs’ rookie center Eric Kush seemed to understand the message that was being sent, per Sanchez:
"When I asked Kush about the “hazing”, he was a good sport and took it all in stride."
"“The vets took it easy on us the whole camp, but got us at the end,” Kush said. “It’s just part of becoming family that us new guys have to deal with. It all cleaned up easy, so no harm no foul.”"
It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt, right?
Seriously though, getting pranked by the veterans is a right of passage on many teams, and even though it may seem like a foreign concept to those not in the football world, it really is an honor.
That popcorn, dish soap and laundry soap symbolizes that the rooks have officially been accepted into Chiefs Kingdom. It means that all the hard work they put in during camp has been recognized, and they are now officially part of the team in the eyes of the veterans.
It truly is all fun and games.
In fact, oddly enough, this is exactly how FanSided pranked me when I came aboard as editor here at Arrowhead Addict.
Coincidence? I think not.