Kansas City Chiefs and Fans Forgotten in Patriots Drama
By J.P. Scott
Sep 29, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs fans cheer in the first half against the New England Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City won 41-14. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
I haven’t been able to turn on my TV or radio all week without hearing some talking head tell me how bad things are in New England or how the end is near for the 13-year long Brady-Belichick dynasty. Making it worse — full disclosure here — is the fact that I am a die-hard New England fan. Making it even worse — I was at Arrowhead for the Monday Night massacre.
After the game, I saw maybe an article or two about the record-breaking performance by the Kansas City fans. I saw all sorts of hub-bub about the slide-and-pray fiasco. What I haven’t seen is the continuing coverage of the Chief fans and their intensity (like what the Seattle fans get) or the outstanding preparation and execution of the gameplan by the Chiefs themselves.
I’m not trying to make excuses here, but I’m not sure any team on the planet was going to walk out of Arrowhead Stadium that night with a win. I brought my father — a Chiefs fan — to the game as a gift for his 62nd birthday. My wife and stepmother were there as well. I was looking forward to it being a great bonding experience — a night where my father and I could share and talk about the one thing outside of our DNA that we have in common.
So much for talking.
We were warned, due to the attempt to break the sound record, that it would be loud. Unless you were there, I’m not sure you can understand just how loud it was. I’ve been woken up by fighter jets flying over my trailer in Djibouti, Africa while deployed in the military. Arrowhead Stadium was at least that loud on Monday Night for several extended periods of time whenever New England had the ball. I actually had to yell at point blank into my father’s ear for him to hear me — and even then he struggled.
I can’t imagine trying to call plays, audibles or line calls on the field when all of that noise is being directed right at you.
As far as the actual play on the field, the end result was not all on the Patriots.
Alex Smith was his usual, efficient self — taking what New England gave him and finishing 20 of 26 for 248 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Nobody is talking about Alex Smith.
Travis Kelce had the breakout game everyone had been waiting for him to have, catching eight passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. Nobody is talking about Travis Kelce.
Knile Davis and Jamaal Charles looked like the scariest 1-2 running back combo in the league, combining for nearly 200 yards on 34 carries. Nobody wants to hear about 1-2 running back combos thanks to fantasy football.
Kansas City’s defense played outstanding assignment football. The front seven looked like what they did a season ago, coming hard off the edges and applying pressure up the middle to keep Brady from being able to set his feet. The secondary made sure New England NEVER had a wide open receiver for Brady to throw to. This threw off the timing in the New England offense. Timing is what their whole system is based on.
In the end, all I could do was sit there and marvel at the Kansas City crowd and the performance their beloved Chiefs put on for them, including my father. The Chiefs are one of those teams that I find difficult to dislike. Their fans (outside of this guy) were nothing but class the entire game, despite my epic trash talking before the contest and during much of the first quarter.
Kansas City is a special place for football and deserves some recognition now and then — especially after the performance it put on Monday night. Unfortunatley, that storyline is just not as sexy to the nation as watching one of the great franchises in sports struggle on national TV.