Tony Gonzalez is a Kansas City Chiefs hero and an NFL legend

On Thursday, the Chiefs are adding their newest member to the Ring of Honor, Tony Gonzalez. Here is my tribute to one of the Chiefs biggest legends.

Growing up, like many, I watched the Kansas City Chiefs with my father.

In those days, I learned about Willie Roaf and Will Shields and how, at one time, you could drive a semi truck through the running lanes created by a Hall of Fame offensive line. I learned about how impossible it was to get a good angle on a kick or punt return by Dante Hall because he was unbelievably quick. I learned the importance of a good quarterback and how having a bad one could quickly derail any playoff hopes.

More than anything, I learned the importance of having a great tight end. It was a pleasure to grow up watching Tony Gonzalez, as he quickly became my favorite NFL player and still is to this day.

Hard work and a love for the game of football

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Gonzalez displayed his love and passion for his work day in and day out. I can remember attending games as a kid and going into Arrowhead Stadium early. It seemed to me that Gonzalez was always the first player warming up and the last one to leave the field before game time.

Once the game started, he was definitely playing his best football. No matter who the quarterback was, Gonzalez quickly became a safety blanket. For Trent Green, Gonzalez was a great guy to throw to if there was any pressure from defenders or if he found the right matchup. More than not, Gonzalez was able to work his way open, but if he didn’t, it did not matter. If the ball was in a place that he could get his hands on it, he would catch it.

This was not a coincidence, nor did it all come naturally. Gonzalez had incredibly strong hands. If the ball hit his hands, you could bet that he wasn’t going to let it get away. Some people credit his ability to catch to his basketball background as he played at the University of California. I believe that it was his relentlessness in perfecting his game with fundamentals such as getting his feet right, looking the ball into his hands, securing the catch and keeping himself out of danger of getting injured. I believe that he truly wanted to be the best tight end to ever play football and he accomplished that.

Showing respect and true class

Gonzalez was not much of a trash talker, or really a talker at all. Whether it be in interviews or during game time, the Chiefs tight end was focused. Despite scoring 111 touchdowns in his career, he showed very little emotion after each score. Most of the time he would flip the ball to the referee and jog off of the field. That is what made his celebration of dunking the ball over the goalpost so iconic. It wasn’t fancy, it wasn’t complicated or humorous. It was true excitement and passion if he was showing any kind of celebration. Gonzalez was one of the best, but I doubt whether he told many people that.

True dominance

Gonzalez also played on a lot of bad Chiefs teams. In fact, the best quarterback that he played with in Kansas City was Trent Green, who along with Damon Huard, Tyler Thigpen and Brodie Croyle, made Gonzalez one of the best ever. Imagine what kind of production he would have had with a top-tier quarterback or even one that was above average. I love the Chiefs, but it is depressing to see how much of his career was spent around players and coaches that could not promote his excellent work.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his statistics, which go a long way to prove a long career of dominance. His statistics and rankings in history are as follows:

• 6th all-time in receiving yards (1st among tight ends) with 15,127 yards
• 2nd all-time in receptions (behind only Jerry Rice) with 1,325 receptions
• 8th all-time in receiving touchdowns (2nd among tight ends) with 111 touchdowns

A legacy, years later

As a kid, when I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I responded with, “An NFL tight end.” This prompted strange looks and even giggles. Many wanted to be a quarterback or a running back, or a wide receiver, but me, I wanted to be Tony Gonzalez.

Today, I want people to realize and remember what an incredible player he was. I am thrilled to see his name enshrined into the stadium wall. I hope no one brushes Gonzalez’s legacy aside because he did not get a chance to play in a Super Bowl or show off his dominance with other talents around him for the majority of his career.

For the Chiefs, he is known to be one of the top five players in franchise history and personally, I would only place him below Derrick Thomas. The simple truth is this: Tony Gonzalez is not only a Chiefs hero, but he is also an all-time NFL legend.