Why I Became a KC Chiefs Fan

  My daughter, along with my two youngest brothers, have a podcast called Hear Us Out (available where one usually gets their podcasts). As the boys are closer in age to my daughters than I am to my youngest brothers, they would spend our home leaves and R&Rs from our overseas postings bonding through movies, games, and conversations. I loved listening to them talk and reveled in the giggles and jokes heard through cracked doors well into the night. This podcast allows me to relive those days and I appreciate they have found a way to keep the spirit of those times alive through the podcast. The premise is that they each have a like and a dislike to share and discuss. Sometimes the topics are deep, but mostly they are light and humorous. What I have learned about my baby brother is that his dislikes are rather odd and make me want to find ways to irritate him with them, in keeping with the spirit of being the big sister and perpetual button pusher. If I could find a way to combine gazebos and wicker furniture in a prank, I so would!

  Baby brother’s latest dislike is not so odd. He’s not terribly happy with this year’s Super Bowl teams. I totally get it. Years of Patriots dominated Super Bowls were nothing but a yawn for me, and I turned to YouTube to see the commercials I missed rather than having to watch two teams I had no interest in for several hours. But he went further in his diatribe, going after Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for trivial reasons and bemoaning the Kelce/Swift distraction (which sits firmly at the feet of the Media, not those two high profile lovebirds!). I would argue that Mahomes is not any more arrogant than any other quarterback I have ever seen interviewed and would go so far as to say he’s a lot more humble than most I’ve seen since I started watching football. BB is a Packers fan, and while they accomplished a lot this year, they are a rather young team now. Jordan Love exceeded our expectations, much to our delight, but in after game interviews I would hardly call him humble. They were the words of an inexperienced football player, that showed more bravado than intelligence, that showed his youth and indicated room for growth. I expect the team will continue to gel and rise through the ranks year after year as the Packers tend to do. I look forward to watching him transform. Aaron Rodgers was as arrogant a quarterback as I’ve ever seen, and now with his exit to New York, I can finally be a Packers fan again (second to the Chiefs of course!). In any case, I find Mahomes a down to earth, likeable guy. Something I haven’t been able to say about many quarterbacks (but maybe I’m just finally paying closer attention. There are some I really like – Brock Purdy, and some that, like Love, are just really young and time will tell who they grow to be).

  I can see where Travis Kelce is a figure that would attract either a love or hate reaction. People with his energy usually do. Tight ends, more often than not, embody this energy, being the big explosive, celebratory jolt to a quarterback’s more reserved, respectable post win interview with the media. I enjoy these contradictions as they happen immensely. TE’s are the comic relief that allow us to really get pulled into the excitement of a win we watch on television. And while Kelce’s post win antics drew me in, he has really shown, along with his brother Jason, a side that is discerning, analytical, and deeper than we usually get to see during football games. His back story is compelling, being a young, stupid player in college whose behavior got him kicked off the team and lost him his scholarship. Jason intervened on his behalf, and the coach told him that if he went to class and got his grades up, gave up his party mentality he MIGHT be let back on the team. Kelce worked his ass off to get his grades up and got a job to cover tuition and got back on the team eventually. He devoted himself to the team and played so well, the NFL was an actual possibility for him. Because of that incident in college, he almost wasn’t drafted. Then Andy Reid called. And redemption was once again on offer. To me Kelce represents what happens when you jump at second chances and celebrate the life that those moments can bring you if you cherish them and act accordingly. And honestly my baby brother also seems to embody the same energy that the most entertaining tight ends have – fun, electric, upbeat, somewhat goofy, and maybe just enough of an alpha energy that makes people want to fight you for reasons that are unfathomable!

  So what led me to the Chiefs and by extension, the Kelce brothers? It sure wasn’t the team colors! I can barely stand the ketchup/mustard look, and is a big reason I’m not drenched in team apparel. It’s not regional loyalty. I was never sucked into the black hole that is herd mentality, especially when it comes to sports. The Dallas Cowboys were the team of choice for my region growing up in Oklahoma, and besides, I wasn’t much of a sports fan growing up. Come to think of it, my ranching/farming family weren’t really football people. Maybe that was just time better spent in the fields, or doing something more productive around the homestead. “Labor Conquers All” was not just a state motto, it was a way of life. I didn’t pay attention to football at all until mom married a guy from Wisconsin. Packers games became background noise in a home with one TV. When celebratory shouts made my middle brother cry as a baby, I chided my parents for their outbursts. And then, at a time when the Packers were not doing so great, they started to do better under the leadership of Favre. Each year they got better and rose incrementally through the ranks. And even after I left home, even if I didn’t watch games, I took note of how the Packers were doing and always, ALWAYS, hoped they beat the Dallas Cowboys. I continued to be a remote Packers fan long after I married a Cowboys fan and long after the players I couldn’t stand left the Cowboys team. And then Rodgers took over as quarterback and, through a series of off field incidents and comments, I just couldn’t abide him any longer.

  I began looking for a bit of an underdog team to cheer on. Maybe I’d become a Seattle Seahawks fan. I loved Seattle from my time at UW after all. But the clencher would be a Washington Post article my husband had me read – about Coach Andy Reid. It recounted Reid’s accomplishments and rise through the coaching ranks. His trials and tribulations with his oldest boys and their battles with addiction. His dedication to both his football team (Philadelphia Eagles at the time) and his boys’ recovery led him to view second chances as something worth a try. He gave Michael Vick a second chance in 2009 after his dog fighting conviction/jail sentence and a path forward where there wasn’t one before (whether you agree with this or not is irrelevant to the point I’m making here- I understand the passion on this issue, but won’t go into this at this time). A few years later, Coach Reid’s oldest boy finally lost his battle with addiction. In 2013, after failing to reach the Super Bowl yet again, Reid was let go from the Eagles and given an opportunity to give a second chance to a failing and troubled Chiefs franchise.

  In Kansas City Reid continued his practice of giving talented, but flawed, players a second chance. Some cases were not so successful, but others, like Travis Kelce, paid off. During Kelce’s NFL draft, he was passed over time and again based purely on that one undergraduate mistake. Knowing Jason Kelce, Reid knew that Travis had something and called him to ask if he was ready and committed. Then he asked for Jason to get on the phone to ask his opinion on which Travis he was drafting (this information came from the Kelce brothers, I believe on their New Heights Podcast – I can’t remember exactly, but if you like football, you should watch or listen to it!). Anyone who knew Coach Reid wanted to see him succeed finally and get that Super Bowl win. In the team that he rebuilt at Arrowhead, he finally got there.

  I really enjoy watching a quarterback/tight end or running back duo who are really in sync. Mahomes and Kelce fit the bill. For that reason alone I will continue to cheer them on until their luck runs out, and probably longer to be honest. I will cheer on those players who somehow or another beat the odds (Purdy, Baker Mayfield, etc). I will also continue to cheer on those teams seen as underdogs until they meet up with the Chiefs in the playoffs or Super Bowl games (Bills, Lions, a young Packers team whose playoff appearance was unlikely but delivered surprising results. Hell the Cowboys haven’t done so great in awhile, so…nah!).

  As for the Swelce controversy? Get over it! I’ve seen players get flack for dating other celebrities that their fan base claims ruined their game. Thankfully Kelce has continued to do well, or this might well have turned out the same bs. Tired of seeing her when the cameras pan to the box? Tell the sports media companies. They are raking in the extra exposure and cash of a new fan base brought to the football table by Miss Taylor Swift. She isn’t doing anything wrong and neither is Kelce. The only thing that pisses me off is that all the Swifties have driven up the price of Chiefs jerseys. Personally I’m cheering the couple on and hoping they beat the odds of most high profile relationships!

  No matter who you are for this year, Chiefs, 49er’s, Usher, or the Clydesdales, I hope you enjoy the day. But Go Chiefs!

I was gifted with this getup literally minutes after I wrote this, lol. My wonderful Cowboys fan husband bought me this for my birthday and in time for the game on Sunday!