Friday, January 31, 2020

The Chiefs...and the Super Bowl!?

50 years.

Have you considered just how long 50 years is? The most telling context that I've read is that Kansas City's current airport - the one being torn down for a new version -  wasn't even open yet in 1970 as that was two more years down the road (or runway, if you'd prefer.)

I'm talking about, of course, the Kansas City Chiefs and their appearance in Super Bowl LIV, a full 50 years after their only Super Bowl championship. There are two generations of fans who have no idea the significance of 35 Toss Power Trap, matriculating the ball down the field, or "Dawson to Taylor...Taylor loose!"

The Chiefs are a franchise born out of the vision of a man initially scorned by the NFL. The Chiefs are a franchise that suffered through tragedy (Joe Delaney, Derrick Thomas, Jovan Belcher.) The Chiefs are a franchise that made one playoff appearance between 1972 and 1989. And now, the Chiefs are a franchise in the Super Bowl.

I remember - vividly - that day in 1970 when I watched Stram, Dawson, Taylor, Garrett, Stenerud, Bell, Lanier, Robinson, et al. bring the first professional championship back to Kansas City. Fifty years later, it's my hope that Reid, Mahomes, Kelce, the Honey Badger, Hill, Jones, and Clark can do the same.

Fifty years later. It would be a fitting tribute to a man who built a franchise as part of the vision he had for a new league that would compete with the NFL. It's fitting because that vision of Lamar Hunt is in keeping with the ethos of this great city of Kansas City--patience, hard work, humility...genuine.

Thank you, Lamar. Thank you, Kansas City Chiefs.

#ChiefsKingdom