© 2020 Yahoo Sports
Copyright © 2020
by Ralph F. Couey
I've resisted the temptation to write about my team, the Kansas City Chiefs, mainly because like the now-famous Chiefs fan Bad Luck Chuck (who fled Arrowhead with the Chiefs down 24-0 because he was convinced he had jinxed them) I'm reluctant to tweak the forces of fate. Especially with a trip to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years on the line.
I get that this sounds highly irrational. And it probably is. But you need to have experienced the unique heartbreak that is a part of every Chiefs fan. One example of dark humor -- Do you know how a medical examiner knows that there's a Chiefs fan on their table? Callous around the heart. When your team loses after gaining a 28-point lead in one game, or loses another when the enemy quarterback throws a touchdown pass...to himself...well, you get the idea. When you're balanced on the edge of a razor blade, you tend to not want to rock the boat.
The thing is, this is a different Chiefs team, one with no residual memory of the past. Their epic comeback last week demonstrates clearly that they are unburdened by any other thought than the absolute certainty that whatever the game, whatever the situation, they can and will win. While the million or so members of Chiefs Nation remain on tenterhooks, the 53 men who really matter in this equation reside comfortably in the beachhouse of absolute confidence.
There is no foolish arrogance here. They know all about that human bulldozer the world knows as Derrick Henry. They are also aware that the last time these teams met, the Chiefs came up short. But they also know that six of their starters were sidelined with injuries. Their quarterback, the reigning MVP, was in his first game back after a gruesome knee injury and was just a little bit tentative. Now, everyone's healthy, except for Chris Jones (still unknown if he'll play) and Travis Kelce (tweaked hammy). Oh yeah, and Juan Thornhill who's gone for the year. But even with those deficits, this team is playing better than it has all year, and it can be argued, better even than last year. The defense is now one of the best in the NFL, and suddenly the task of containing Henry seems less insurmountable. If that happens, and the Chiefs offense races to an early big lead, than the Titans have to start throwing the ball, a task at which they are distinctly ordinary. Vegas installed the Chiefs as a 7.5 point favorite, which in a playoff game is outrageously confident. That in itself kind of bodes unwell, since the Chiefs have a regrettable tendency to shorten those odds on game day.
Now, I have a personal thing intervening. Because Hawai'i is four time zones removed from Arrowhead Stadium, the game will start at 10 a.m. local time. I'm preaching that day, which means that I won't even be able to sneak a peak at my phone. I'll have to wait until the service is over and then check the score. Then the whole weight of that impact will fall upon me, good or ill. You see, when you watch the game, whether its good or bad, its laid upon you one strip at a time. If the game goes badly, you pretty much know it and have time to prepare emotionally. To find out all at once...
I once had a friend who was going to propose to his girl. He bought the ring, got a reservation at a really great (read: expensive) restaurant. However, when he arrived to pick her up, she dumped him. No warning, no clue. Just...goodbye. It took years for him to get over that. Now, a part of me feels that the Chiefs will win the game. If the offense is allowed to run wild like it did last week, and the defense does even a half-way decent job, there's no way the Titans can keep up. Every expert is saying the same thing. But I am a lifelong Chiefs fan, and these are the Chiefs. Anything can happen. Anything bad.
Now, if they get past this weekend and land that coveted date in Miami in February, the pressure on us fans eases. Hey, they got to the Super Bowl, right? Just to play in that game is a well-deserved honor. But that Big Game has been the unwavering goal of this team -- and that city -- since that cold, painful walk into a winter darkness last year. I was there.
But that's the albatross around the neck of every sports fan. When the team is winning during the regular season, things are great. Even an occasional loss is bearable because there's always next week. In the playoffs, it can, and does all end with a dramatic and heart-crippling suddenness. 18 weeks of anticipation lies crushed and broken My son tells me I shouldn't mope like this. The Chiefs are an excellent team on a mission, and that can overcome a lot. But the history of this team hangs above us all like the proverbial sword of Damocles. And while we fervently hope for the best, we know in order to protect ourselves we must prepare in our minds and hearts a place to mourn. This is all part and parcel of the life of a Chiefs fan. Of course, it doesn't have to end in disaster.
Hey, they might actually win the whole tamale. Then, w
hat will we do with our paranoia next year?
No comments:
Post a Comment