Kansas City fans mourned the death of Royals’ pitcher Yordano Ventura this week. It’s been a tough time for all impacted.
Sunday was a difficult day for Kansas City fans.
The Chiefs very well could have won their Divisional round game at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers a week ago. It was a disappointing performance all around. Had the Chiefs won, they would have been playing in New England on Sunday for a chance to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
But that wasn’t the reason why Sunday was so hard for the people of Kansas City. News of Royals’ pitcher Yordano Ventura’s death in the Dominican Republic broke Sunday morning. It was heartbreaking, to say the least, for Royals fans and baseball fans around the world.
As we saw after the death of Ventura, people of this town love their sports and athletes. The Royals and Chiefs mean a ton to the people of this town.
Related Story: Video and pictures from Yordano Ventura's funeral
We turn to sports during some of the toughest times of our life. Personally, I turned to baseball and football as an escape after the death of my grandpa. We shared a common bond of loving the two sports. I felt and still do today (three years later), that sports kept that connection with my grandpa alive.
My point is, that most of you probably have a connection similar to mine with sports. For a lot of you, that connection comes from the Chiefs.
Sure, we argue quite a bit about whether or not Alex Smith can lead the Chiefs to a Super Bowl or if Andy Reid is the right guy to call plays on offense. But at the end of the day, hundreds of thousands of people come together to cheer on the Chiefs each season. When you really think about it, that’s a beautiful thing.
This isn’t your typical Arrowhead Addict post, but I just want everyone to understand how lucky we are to have an organization like the Chiefs to bring people of different races, genders and political views together as one.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wrote a beautiful piece detailing his own emotions in the wake of Ventura’s death. I wanted to share a few things that he wrote. If you have the time, please read what Sam had to say.
"“When tragedy hits close enough to make us pause, we often say that it puts things in perspective. Makes us appreciate the parts of our lives we should appreciate.It’s not right to say that’s a silver lining, because there is no liver lining. But it can help, in some small way.The challenge for all of us is to never forget to appreciate what needs appreciating. To never forget the importance of helping others, to brighten someone’s day, to spend time you don’t feel like you have to connect with someone.”"
Take a moment to think about how lucky you are. Take a moment to appreciate the good things you have in your life. Take a moment to also appreciate the men who don a Chiefs uniform 16 Sunday’s each year. They’re all human. They may be heroes to us but to those who love them, they’re husbands, fathers and sons, just like Yordano Ventura was.