I'll be brief, and much of the post is simply a confession. I must confess right here in the cybersphere, I simply must. Thank you wholeheartedly for your indulgence.
I promised myself I would not look at a single thing Chiefs through the course of the entire week, because if things good are said I'll feel overconfident, if things bad are said I'll just be depressed. Stay away stay away stay away I told myself, but I blew it today. For a grand total of about 16 seconds I went off the wagon. Sorry.
I looked.
And I'm sorry, I just have to write. Forgive me.
In and around it all I just have to say three things. There is a lot more I'd like to say about how much I enjoy pure wholesome Chiefs things and how much I disdain the utter wretchedness of exploitive NFL organization/media/business-interests plap.
Here're the three things.
1. I'm so sick of seeing sportswriter hacks continue to write stories about how much we shouldn't forget what domestic violence thing Tyreek Hill did. Really, please, do you really feel any more about how despicable any domestic violence or sexual assault or anything like that must be just because some bozo with a keyboard in a cubicle gets on his high horse to remind us about it, with particular attention to how we should all think much less of Tyreek Hill because of it?
Yes, yes, I did a bad thing. I peeked at stuff about the Chiefs this week and sure enough I saw another of those idiotic pieces. What is it, what Mr. Holier-Than-Thou sportswriter wretch are we supposed to do regarding our thrills watching the fine football play of Tyreek Hill, someone who made a mistake, a terrible mistake not one single healthy individual would excuse for a second anyway, one for which he was duly prosecuted, one for which he fulfilled all the requirements of the law, and one for which he has expressed deep sincere regret?
Here's what I feel like doing. I feel like calling out any and every sportswriter who uses this incident and the contrast of Hill's fine play as a way to gain some pathetic attempt at notoriety and ask, what about you Mr. Sportswriter? What about that DUI you had a few years ago? What about that time you ripped off your best friend right after he helped you out? What about that time you got wasted and lied to your boss about it? Or something worse I could dig up? I feel like publishing a huge spread about how no one should ever forget what an asshole somebody could be just like Roger Sportsdick was at one time even though now he's a pretty decent writer.
Okay, how does that feel? Does that kind of thing make us all feel better about ourselves?
Of course it doesn't. It's just sanctimonious crap, all of it is. I may feel like doing something like that to a sportswriter who may even deserve it, but won't, and never would because of exactly that. It is sanctimoniously pointless crap.
Just as bad, I believe it is spewed out to try to put a crimp in the Kansas City Chiefs right at the moment of their potential success. Yes, it is part of that challenge the Chiefs have of working even more valiantly to overcome shit like this, to steel themselves against an establishment that loathes having a little podunk not-a-huge-market-with-lots-of-$$$ team there legitimately poised to go deep into $$$-generating playoff action.
I'm so glad this is a team with tremendous strength and character and camaraderie, that this stuff doesn't get to them.
I could add a few more things about this whole thing, about the plain double standards all around and the rank pusillanimity of the NFL as an organization, but that's for another post.
For now, the second thing, part of the confession.
2. The weather. Sorry, but I peeked at the weather for Sunday. Yeah, thinking this would be a harmless little transgression, I was wrong. I did a bad thing again.
But there you go. I saw the weather for Sunday, and I have to say right here, just to clear my conscience.
It makes me very nervous.
Every day in Kansas City this week the forecast is fine, it's okay -- somewhat sunny, temps decent though a bit chilly. Every day the following week is pretty okay too.
Except for this Sunday.
It is literally freezing rain.
Look it up.
Icy, freezing rain. The temps will be hovering in the mid-30's with major precipitation.
Great. Guh-rate.
Sorry but I look at these things and just wonder, what is going on here?
What is going on here with Chiefs playoff games at Arrowhead?
Now yeah, it could be nothing. It could be just as much of a hazard for the Steelers as anything, yeah, I know.
And one really good thing is that this is a playoff game, and Arrowhead will be packed even if it drops to minus-183 degree Antarctica-in-winter conditions.
We've got the fans and the decibel level on our side.
Here's the third thing, a good thing actually, the thing I'm now thinking is the key above all the keys we've talked about, heard about, thought about, keep thinking about...
3. Our coaches exploiting the areas where we can be most successful against the Steelers.
Really, that's the key. When you think about it, if we do this, we win. If we do this, and we make the right game adjustments, the charmed things that always happen for the Steelers won't happen for them because our fine talent will get us the dub-ya, no charmed things having any effect one way or the other.
One of the things we can do here is control the ball. Chew clock. Yes, we should score something each time we go down the field. Doesn't matter what, just get a score each time we get down the field -- be consistent with the scoreboard.
An important facet of this is to do our game management thing, have drives that use lots of clock time, for the expressed purpose of keeping their three fine offensive players off the field. Sure we can have big plays if we can get the touchdown, that's cool.
But our coaching is the key -- simply using our smarts in every area to exploit what we can, and we have the weapons, don't need to go over them again. We have the playcalling, it is Andy Reid's strength. We have the depth, John Dorsey has been phenomenal at getting us the guns.
Yeah, it's all very wonderful. Very nice indeed, no matter what detractors of any and every stripe may blab.
The Chiefs are among the elite of professional football and deserve to be so.
Good work gentlemen. We're proud of you.
Keep it up.
___
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