BAIL TO THE CHIEFS: HOW I LOST INTEREST IN THE NFL

I’m the kind of fan the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL don’t want to hear about. Yeah, I had Chiefs season tickets for about 15 years. I went to the Carl Peterson Show, the Tim Grunhard Show, and religiously watched road games with friends and family. I bought t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats emblazoned with the arrowhead. I even ran a fantasy football league for several years.

I bled red.

Then something happened. Every year I had tickets, the price went up. I got married. I had kids. The team has been a playoff failure since 1993.

I learned my entertainment dollar could be spent elsewhere and better yet, more efficiently.

I also looked around and saw the behavior of the people I had developed and shared my Arrowhead experience with for so long, and I hated it.

When the Chiefs won, they would taunt the other team and the other team’s fans. When the Chiefs lost, it was worse. Not only did they take out their frustration on the other team’s fans, but they took it out on each other. I’ve seen men shove their wives/girlfriends. I even saw a guy destroy a food and beverage cart after an emotional Chiefs playoff loss. I’ve seen arguments. I’ve seen fights.

OK, this is by no means unique to Kansas City. I’m sure this happens in every NFL city when their team loses. And I can honestly say, I’ve never been so emotional about my team losing that I have to take it out physically on someone or something.

In other words, it’s just a game, and my life isn’t so pathetic that I live and die by it. I mean win or lose, do you really believe these guys give a damn about me or what I do?

Now, I rarely watch the Chiefs or any NFL game for that matter on TV. I can’t stand to listen to the radio geeks talk Chiefs. I never where my Chiefs apparel, and I haven’t played fantasy football in about seven or eight years.

And here’s the amazing part about the whole thing: I don’t miss any of it.

Sure, if someone handed me a ticket, and I didn’t have anything else going on, I’d probably go to a game, but that doesn’t make me a hypocrite. That makes me someone going to a free football game, nothing more, nothing less.

I haven’t changed because of the recent poor play of the Chiefs or the different direction the organization has gone under Scott Pioli, which by the way, I don’t necessarily agree with. I’ve grown tired of professional football in general, and the funny thing is that I don’t believe I’m alone in my thoughts.

I know of several friends and family members who share the same sentiments as I. Maybe it’s a maturing process. Maybe it’s an awakening. But whatever it is, I don’t see my views changing anytime soon.

A SPORTS MEMORY FOR LIFE

Every sports fan has their top five or top 10 sports moments in life. My top moment was the 1985 World Series and watching the Kansas City Royals defeat the cross-state (and might I add—hated) St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. I was fortunate enough to attend Game Six which, as everyone knows, was the controversial one. But I won’t go into all that.

I recently had another moment creep into my top five, and it had nothing to do with a professional, college or high school sporting event. On Wednesday, June 27, 2012, my daughter’s first grade, coach pitch softball team, the Fireflies, did the unthinkable, the improbable, the unbelievable.

First, a little history. Candidly, the Fireflies didn’t have that spectacular of a season finishing 5-6-1 and seeding sixth in the postseason tournament. As a parent, I’ll admit, I had low expectations in the tournament for a pretty good team. On top of that, extreme summer heat was settling in, and I just wanted to see this season end soon.

Sure enough, the Fireflies won the first game, setting up one of the most exciting games of the tournament. Going into extra innings (extra time), the Fireflies dropped the second contest 15-14, pushing them to the loser’s side of the bracket. The game was not without controversy, however as the opponent used two players in the same position more than once, which is no-no at this level. Unfortunately, the coaches didn’t catch it in time.

Now, the Fireflies had to win five consecutive games over three days beginning on Monday, June 25 to win the tournament title…a monumental task.

Knowing there was no margin for error, the Fireflies took care of business in that Monday night game, and moved on to Tuesday night. Fortunately, that game lasted just three innings because of the 11-0 spread, so on to Wednesday and the potential for three games at 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. I packed sandwiches and several drinks. We were settling in for the long haul, but we knew, one loss, and home, we were headed.

The 6 p.m. game was against the team we had already lost to in the tournament, so this was the perfect opportunity to avenge that loss. And just like last time, it came down to the final inning, but no extra innings (extra time) were needed, and the Fireflies advanced to take on the team with only one loss all season long.

This was the championship round. The Fireflies had to win both games to win the tournament title. Lose one, and the season was over, but we all knew, the team could finish no worse than second place. Not bad for a team seeded sixth and that had not practiced since before the season started. The 7:30 p.m. game began. Back and forth it went to the end until the Fireflies were able to hold off the Ice Cream Sundaes and force one final game for all the marbles.

Now, game three of the night. It was shortly after 9 p.m. The girls were tired and hot, but having a good time. For the third game in a row, the score was close. In fact, the Fireflies led 11-9 going into the top of the last inning. The Ice Cream Sundaes tied it up 11-11 heading into the bottom half of the inning. In that inning, the first two Fireflies got on base. The third lined a single to left-center. The third base coach sent the runner from second home. The throw to the plate was offline. The game was over. Fireflies win 12-11.

The Fireflies had done the unthinkable, the improbable, the unbelievable. This team had won five games in three days through scorching heat, with three of those games coming in one evening.

When the winning run scored, I jumped out of my chair screaming, running to the Fireflies’ dugout, looking for my daughter. I wanted to high five her, hug her, celebrate with her. By this time, it was nearly 11 p.m. She was tired, I was tired, but the enthusiasm and adrenaline in that moment kept me, and I’m sure the girls, going. For me, it felt like 1985 all over again, of course on a smaller scale, but so what. This was much more personal, and it made me feel good.

I enjoyed the feeling of being that proud parent of your child. It’s not the first time that’s happened, and it won’t be the last, but it’s just one of the many memories I’ll take with me as I watch my daughter grow and become a woman. Those are the moments you never want to forget, and if it’s one of the sports memories that makes it into your top five, well then, so be it.

THE POWER OF CELEBRITY

Sitting back and watching two unbelievable stories unfold in the world of sports recently, I’ve caught myself asking the same question over and over in my head: How can this happen?

First, there was the Bobby Petrino fiasco at the University of Arkansas. More and more pieces of that story continue to “leak” out regarding his motorcycle crash and the woman riding with him. Who knows when, where or how it will end, but for now, he’s no longer the head coach at Arkansas and has created a lot of embarrassment for himself, his family and the university.

Second, there was Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen’s comment about Fidel Castro. Guillen, who is Venezuelan, told Time magazine he loves Castro and respects the retired Cuban leader for staying in power so long. But what he meant to say was, “I cannot believe somebody who hurt so many people over the years is still alive.” Hmm.

Now, everyone has their own opinion about the morality of these specific events; however, there’s something bigger here, something deeper, which gets back to my question of how can this happen.

It’s simple. People in power or people with money feel they are invincible. They think they are Superman, above the law, nothing can happen to them. I have enough power, money and friends to get me out of whatever pickle I get myself into. That may have been the case 20 or 30 years ago, but now that every person in this country is armed with a camera phone, the internet/social media and access to some 24-hour news channel, it’s getting increasingly difficult for these people to get away with even jaywalking.

So, now this begs the question, why do they do it? Sooner or later they’re going to get caught. A mistake will be made, a trusted friend will turn on them or an involved party will seek the shakedown. It always happens. Sometimes it takes a long time for the alleged accused to come to light.

Take for instance former Penn St. assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. He was accused of molesting young boys for years, and those at the university either refused to believe it or looked the other way as it was happening. He used his position of power to get away with it for that time until someone finally came forward.

I’m no psychologist, but each of these incidents, as well as many others that are similar, has the same thing in common, ego. And what’s even more surprising from all of this is that no one has seemed to learn from another’s example, with websites like TMZ and Deadspin constantly up the rear ends of these people, and then reporting on the misdeeds. Once the story is out, the rest of the national media latches onto like a leech. There’s no escaping it.

It’s obvious to me that these people with money and/or power live in a bubble and fear no one but themselves. Their ego is so inflated and out of control not even their closest confidant can help them avoid their transgressions.

Petrino went in front of the press and lied about his accident. He paid the ultimate price by losing his job.

Guillen apologized to the very people that the Miami Marlins are trying to attract to their brand-spanking new ballpark, the Cuban-Americans that live in and around that area.

Neither seemed forthright or sincere during their press dog and pony, and who’s to say that they won’t go back to their old ways when the dust settles. At least Sandusky, whose charges are much more serious, is facing possible jail time.

Petrino and Guillen obviously shouldn’t go to jail for their “crimes,” but Petrino’s punishment was just. Guillen’s five-game suspension amounted to a slap on the wrist. He should have been fired. He’s a guy notorious for shooting his mouth off, so rest assured, he’ll be closely watched the rest of the season and will probably say something beyond stupid again.

As for the rest of these knuckleheads that think they can get away with whatever they want because of who they are and what they do, it’s time for the consequences to become much more dire. As long as the media holds them in high regard, tears them down and then forgets about them, these events will continue. Keep the pressure on, and don’t let them rest until justice is found.