The Kansas City Chiefs have been a frustrating team to cheer for this season. First there was the 0-2 start for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era. Then they seemed to find their footing and won five out of six games.
At that point fans were starting to dream of another Super Bowl win. Unfortunately, that was followed by back-to-back loses and the Chiefs found themselves out of playoff position. A win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday got the ship pointed back in the right direction, but 6-5 and out of the playoffs isn't exactly what fans were hoping for.
Given how the season has gone it can be easy for fans to forget just how good they have it. We are still living in the golden age of Chiefs football. So with Thanksgiving this week it's the perfect time to reflect on the top five things every KC fan should be grateful for.
The Five Things Every Chiefs Fan Should Be Thankful For
Honorable Mentions: Travis Kelce and Chris Jones
You know you have it good as fans when two Hall of Fame caliber players only make the honorable mentions list. Travis Kelce and Chris Jones may be getting up there in NFL years, but they have given Chiefs fans a lifetime of great memories. They play the game with a joy that is infectious and their successes, both individual and that they have helped the team achieve are legendary. Getting to watch these two have the careers they have had as lifelong Chiefs is definitely worth being grateful for.
5. The Chiefs being televised, talked about, and all over NFL media.
For those Chiefs fans that have been following the team for decades, you know how little media attention the team received outside of local Kansas City media. Some fans would watch an entire episode of SportsCenter on Monday morning just for the 30 seconds of highlights and commentary the team would get. This was usually followed by 10 minutes of discussion on the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, or whatever team was the buzz of the NFL that season. Now the Kansas City Chiefs are the team that other fans are tired of hearing talked about constantly.
During those same years it was a big deal when the Chiefs had a primetime game. The Chiefs were pretty much locked into that noon central game slot except for when they would play on the west coast and move down to the 3pm central spot. A single Sunday or Monday night game might be the highlight of the entire schedule. Now it seems like the noon games are the minority and the Chiefs play in primetime multiple times per season.
4. Steve Spagnuolo
The Chiefs defense has been good enough to win Super Bowls since Steve Spagnuolo arrived in Kansas City. That alone is reason to be grateful. As with any coach in NFL history, even the great ones, fans can get frustrated when things don't go well. While there have been little bumps along the way, Spags has consistently had the Chiefs in the top third of the league in points allowed. He's know for keeping quarterbacks out of rhythm and is known to bring his best stuff in the postseason.
Spagnuolo has the resume to argue as being one of the greatest defensive coordinators in NFL history. Chiefs fans should be grateful that his head coaching career was a let down, because normally a coordinator this good gets snatched up by a team needing a new head coach. Instead, Spags is viewed as a guy that's a legendary coordinator, but not a head coach. That has worked in KC's favor and the three Super Bowls that he helped win is all the proof anyone should need.
3. Andy Reid
The Kansas City Chiefs were at absolute rock bottom when Andy Reid arrived as their new head coach. They not only had the worst record in the NFL, but they were an unmitigated disaster. Fans were wearing paper bags to games and flying "Save Our Chiefs" banners over the stadium. Fans were called "sickening" by offensive tackle Eric Winston when they cheered for Brady Quinn coming into the game (yes...Brady Quinn) after Matt Cassel was injured.
Just when it seemed like things couldn't get any worse, Jovan Belcher murdered his girlfriend and then drove to the team facility and took his own life. It was as dark of time as anyone in Chiefs Kingdom could remember. Andy Reid wiped all of that away the instant he walked in the door. The Chiefs weren't a laughing stock anymore. They were instantly a competitive and professional football team and it was staggering how stark of a contrast it was from the years prior to his arrival.
Chiefs fans that lived through that era would have been forever grateful for Reid for that even if the Super Bowls had never followed. That's how much he improved this team both on and off the field. Yes, fans naturally appreciate all the wins and the three Super Bowl wins that Reid has given them, but there are fans that appreciate that Kansas City was where Reid was finally able to get over the hump and win a title. Reid was already a great coach, but in Kansas City he became a legend. Regardless of if he occasionally does things that there are no excuses for, every single Chiefs fan should be eternally grateful for everything Andy Reid has done for the Chiefs.
2. Patrick Mahomes
This one almost doesn't need explained. Not only had Kansas City not had an elite quarterback in the decades before Patrick Mahomes arrived, they had completely given up on ever finding one. They decided that they would rather keep signing average-ability cast-offs from other teams than risk drafting another Todd Blackledge that didn't pan out and would set the team back.
Guys like Steve DeBerg, Joe Montana, Trent Green, and Alex Smith gave Chiefs fans some good seasons and did just enough to get hopes up that maybe they could win a Super Bowl. Unfortunately, they had a ceiling of good, but not great and the Chiefs always came up just short.
Then it finally happened. They traded up in the first round and took a swing at a big time talent in Patrick Mahomes. Calling that swing a home run almost doesn't do it justice.
Patrick Mahomes has had the greatest start to an NFL career ever. Period. You can't argue it. He has the Super Bowl wins, the stats, the MVPs, and the never ending highlight reel. Yes, his numbers have dropped a little the past few seasons, but what he has brought to Kansas City should never be forgotten. He's already the greatest player in franchise history and you would be hard pressed to find a single fan to push back on that statement.
1. Getting to see a modern dynasty that includes three Super Bowl wins
Fans of other teams can go their entire life without seeing their team win a Super Bowl. For decades, many of us Chiefs fans that weren't old enough to see the franchise's first Super Bowl win wondered if we would ever get to see the Chiefs win one. Now we have seen them win three. With the exception of New England Patriots fans that lived through their entire dynasty, the fanbase of every other NFL team wants what KC fans have had the past eight years.
Fans should never take this run of success for granted. When it does finally end it is highly unlikely that we will ever get to experience a run like this again in our lifetimes. The Chiefs are THE team of the past decade and despite their current 6-5 record there is no reason to believe that they can't continue to compete for years to come. This is as good as it gets for a NFL fan and while it's fine to be frustrated by bad games, don't lose perspective for all the joy this team has brought fans during this incredible run.
So as you sit down around the Thanksgiving table this week and give thanks before you get to turn on the television and watch the Chiefs play in yet another nationally televised game, take a minute to be thankful for everything this team has given fans to be grateful for.