Damien Williams slams the door.
Fox Sports
Copyright © 2020
by Ralph F. Couey
There was a moment Sunday afternoon (here in Hawai'i) when realization struck with the force of the Chicxulub Impactor. The Kansas City Chiefs, after 50 years of bitter disappointments were about to win the Super Bowl. Just minutes before, it seemed that the game was virtually over. Patrick Mahomes had just thrown his second interception. The 49ers were up by 10 with about seven minutes left in the game. With other teams in other times, that might have been the signal to turn off the television and go do something else. But my wife and I just settled back on the couch, both of us wearing that smug little "I-know-something-you-don't-know" smile, and just waited for the magic to happen. In five and a half minutes, Mahomes and the Chiefs put up three touchdowns and stopped the San Francisco offense. What had been a 10 point deficit suddenly became a four point lead. Then Damien Williams, following Anthony Sherman around the left side, broke loose for a 38-yard sprint that sealed the game. Suddenly, the belief became reality. With one final 60-yard heave by Mahomes, the clock ran out, the confetti erupted, and the Kansas City Chiefs became World Champions of Professional Football.
I've spent the past three days trying to collect my thoughts. One part of me seems to be locked in a dream-like state, not completely trusting the truth of what has happened. I find myself asking over and over, "Did that really happen?"
But now in the early hours of Wednesday, I can finally cast aside the clouds of dreams and fully embrace the bright and shiny truth.
Its hard to explain this feeling that Kansas City fans are feeling right now. Pride, joy, victory to be sure. But I think what most of us are feeling is vindication. Our team, our town are now champions. And nothing can ever take that away. All the pain and torment of some of the most excruciating playoff losses ever seen were washed away, all but forgotten in the wave of delirium that has followed the scintillating win. Later today, Kansas Citians, and other members of the Chiefs Kingdom will line the streets of their city to cheer their conquering heroes. A little over four years ago, a virtual sea of blue, estimated at a million strong, gathered at Union Station for a victory rally to celebrate the Royals' World Series championship. It was a delightful late fall day, but the forecast for today is anything but delightful. Temperatures are not expected to rise out of the 20's, and the winds will be swirling the flakes of a three-inch snowfall. But the fans will still come, albeit layered and wrapped. The sea of humanity, this time clad in red, that will gather at the rally will undoubtedly be smaller, but no less enthusiastic. Having lived in the tropics for a year and a half, I am no fan of cold weather. But a big part of me so badly wants to be there.
This is a defining moment for a city and a community, united in joy and celebration, so rare in these tribally divided times. For a few short hours, all will stand together with one heart sharing that unique joy that comes with achievement.
This victory is also a message. The Chief were 24 points down, and won by 20. They were 10 points down and won by 11, twice. This record should stand as a shining example for us all that no matter how dark the circumstances, or how dim the hopes, the game is never over as long as we believe strongly in ourselves and each other. The Chiefs never thought they were out of this game. They believed in each other, and thus refused to surrender to their circumstances.
Patrick Mahomes was asked, after winning the game and being named the MVP, how he could possibly top this. His reply was simple: "Win another one." It's easy to be carried away by the emotion of the moment and believe that a repeat is possible, perhaps even certain. But there's so many variables that make up the journey between week one and the Super Bowl. Injuries, players coming down off a career year, and the fact that other teams will be changing to meet the new challenge. Also, the hardest part about standing atop the mountain is that everyone else will pull out the stops to knock you back down. But this is a young team, with no real contract issues for the next two years. The quarterback is only in his second year as a starter and will only get better. The defense, having played a full season in this new scheme, will take the field as an experienced and far more instinctual unit. That they will be competitive into the playoffs is a dead certainty. But a repeat Super Bowl? Only time will tell.
Over time, the jubilation will fade, and Kansas City will spend the spring and summer watching a baseball team try to not lose 100 games again. But come July, training camp begins again. and two months later, the Chiefs will again take the field and begin what we all hope will be another glorious campaign. But we will not be alone. Chiefs Kingdom has expanded. People all across the country will be wearing Chiefs gear and doing the chop at each other. The fanbase is now national in scope, and the sound of cheers will resound from sea to shining sea.
I remember vividly sitting the living room on a cold January day in 1970, watching the Chiefs of Len Dawson and Hank Stram inflict a resounding defeat on the Minnesota Vikings. I was 14 years old, and it was simply the best day of my young life. Now, a half-century later, I have once again been to the mountain and stood in the bright light of victory.
And none of us are planning on coming down anytime soon.
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