An open letter to Kansas City Chiefs fans
By Chris Taylor
Tempers are high as there is an unsettling nervousness among Chiefs fans right now. A doom and gloom outlook on the upcoming season has fans on edge.
Dear disgruntled Chiefs fan,
There has been a whirlwind of drama this off-season. Players released as well as a general manager. Veteran players tweeting how they feel. Ex-convicts invited to intern as a preseason coach. The list goes on and on—from the draft to free agency, from upper management moves and a generally frail outlook on the season by “experts”. It’s understandable to see why fans are so uptight right now, I get it. There is also a time to freak out and a time to be patient. Be patient in July.
How often do we fans accuse professional coaches of depriving some village of its idiot? The same question can be asked of how often we accuse players of having too much yardage between the goal posts. All while we accuse management of scratching their watch while winding their butts.
It is fairly easy to operate an organization on your gaming console of choice.
With any team that has a following, you get an amount of fans that have been misplaced by the consequences of life, missing out on their opportunity to be the general manager or head coach of their favorite team. These are fans that disagree with every decision made by management, and every play called by a coach. If only they had hired you, your team would have won multiple championships by now. Besides, it is fairly easy to operate an organization on your gaming console of choice.
Contradictions and hypocrisy abound. Day by day we dissect every word, move, and decision made. With every point of analysis, the opinions are split between yay and nay. Even though we are all fans of the same team, our investments and interests in our team differ.
Although I completely disagree in the notion that Kansas City is in some kind of trouble, I do understand the nervousness. Let us be careful in our accusations and assumptions. Every NFL team has to go through some type of drama almost more times than not.
Look at the distractions the New England Patriots have faced in recent years if you want an example. Now take a look at their success. No, the Chiefs are not the Patriots. But at one time, Patriots fans were hard to find outside of the Northeast. Drastic changes in 2000 to their roster and management sent the franchise into a dynasty.
Players come and go, some move on to better things, while some simply fade away. Coaches flow through the pipeline like thick mud. These things happen to every team no matter what shape of ball they use.
Recently Kansas City brought in Mike Vick to intern during training camp. The crimes he commited have not been forgiven by some. There are those of you that have chose to hang up your Chiefs memorabilia because of grace. Grace is what Vick received after his stint in prison. He commited a crime, and paid for that crime. The amount of good that man has done since his release back into the free world falls on deaf ears for many. To imagine the sin-free world you’ve been living in reminds me of this book I’ve heard so much about. In this book there was a man who himself commited no such sin. Those of you who hold yourselves above the possibilities of doing something stupid should really read it.
The release of general manager John Dorsey sent knee-jerk reactions throughout the league. Most of the concern surrounded the loss of such a talent evaluator. The remainder of the concern was the loss of a general manager, as well as the Chiefs not having enough talent to compete.
Those two things go hand in hand.
If we have a problem with the talent we as fans have evaluated, then the blame goes directly to the general manager. That is how it works.
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We as fans do these things because all sports viewing is hindsight, and hindsight is always 20/20. While we sit on our comfy couches screaming at the television, the coach with his ears burning, has to keep coaching. We praise offseason moves then later bash them if they don’t pan out. We tell our team to sign players to massive contracts then blame the team for injuries and low performance.
I used to have the audacity to think I knew what was best for each team I followed. This started at a young age, and it is still something I do from time to time. It’s easy to pick apart general managers or head coaches on their decisions—to roll our eyes at specific calls made throughout a game. We even yell at players for missing tackles or dropping passes. We could do so much better ourselves.
Specifically I am talking about those of us residing in Chiefs Kingdom, from one fan to another. How desperate and condescending do we actually need to be? The Chiefs have every bit of a chance to at least match their success of last season. Sometimes we need to sit back and remind ourselves why we watch sports in general.
Why do you watch football? Is it because you love to hear the National Anthem? Or perhaps you live for the drama of the sideline when the camera pans across? Do you watch sports because you believe a player’s personal life is so much more interesting than your own?
Most would answer these questions with a resounding no. You watch football for the football. You want to see break out runs, deep passes and great hits.
Chiefs Kingdom, your team is fine. The players you follow are ready to bring it. The coaches are ready. Don’t get caught up in all the nonsense. Bring the noise. Good things are coming. We as fans should act like it. Do not allow anyone to compare us to fans of, say, the Cowboys….
If this letter doesn’t rile you up, nothing will. Represent your team the way you want your team representing you.