Josh Kingsley
Another week in the books and more travel to the log. This week added a common thread: eaaaaaaarly morning flights. To be fair, it was a conscious choice. A big part of travel for me is being in control of situations as much as possible. I understand this is a fools errand to expect controlling, well, anything really, but choices are available to influence. First AM flights are the best possible chance of on time departure, which means… staying on schedule. I almost always make that choice. Avoiding connections is another way to influence. Milwaukee has a great, easily accessible airport, but Covid did a number on its flight schedule. I hope it comes back, but for now I am avoiding connections by making the 75 minute drive to O’Hare quite often.
It dawned on me the other night when I packed my bag that I was prepping for the 3rd 4:00 AM alarm set in a week only to make my 3rd trek home from O’Hare. I’m an early riser, but that is tough for me. Mainly because I am a late nighter as well. I genuinely have next to no gripes about air travel. Are the schedules hectic and the quarters cramped? Sure. Do you fly and cover massive ground in no time? Absolutely. Zero issue with the trade off. However, I do need to mention a strong dislike for regional, or as I call them: junior jets. They make sense, but I can’t stand ’em especially when saddled with a window seat. I’m an aisle guy per the original comment about being in most control. Window seat on a jr jet is my closest foray to claustrophobia.
Welcome aboard my weekly train to nowhere.
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Good Eats
I hit 3 cities and 2 towns this last trip, not counting Chicago (effectively my second home… in the second city). The cities were Buffalo, Cincinnati and Birmingham, and the towns Hartselle, AL and Decatur, AL. The Alabama town portion was to visit water utility booster pumping stations, but the cities have the applicable stories.
The first stop was Buffalo, which I mentioned last week. There was an extra couple events after I wrapped that one. Their NHL team, the Sabres, are so bad a row 2 ticket on ice was $62, and the Avs were in town. Slam dunk choice to go. After the trip I made a stop to my co-worker’s favorite wing spot: Gabriel’s Gate (see pic). Wow-za, that was a perfect late night meal. I got wings and potato skins. The wings were perfection and coupled with the earlier Duff’s stop chicken wings will never be the same. Simply delicious and perfect in every possible way.
Cincy was for the game, which I will cover in more depth below, but no trip is complete without a stop at: Skyline. I absolutely love Cincy style chili, and 5 way (onions, beans, cheese, chili over spaghetti) is how to do it. The last stop was Decatur to a place called: Dots Soul Food Restaurant (see below). Fried chicken, cream corn, mashed potatoes, cafeteria line for food that started out in the parking lot long before the place opened, and total swagger from the staff urging patrons to fall in line and follow the process. Food better be top notch to pull off that last part… and they nailed it.
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File all spots in the “when in the area” category.
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Cincy and a Football Game
This game was on my calendar all season. My fan group, Arrowhead Kingdom, hosted a tailgate for this one, and I was one of the two point people. The biggest contribution was bring the sound equipment and my guy Anthony to spin tunes. Cincy is a major hole on our fan chapter map, so KC Will and I jumped at the chance to represent. Word sent out across the social platforms, and we assembled a nice group to party prior to hitting the stadium. I finally met a few people I have digitally known for a long time — Will, Catherine, & Blitz — in person. Also met some completely new people. Plus, it was wonderfully cold as heck, as is December football tradition. Overall, less the result, Cincinnati was a great experience.
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Longworth Hall Tailgate Scene
We had our tailgate at Longworth Hall, which is a wedding and event venue on the other side of the 71 from Paycor Stadium. This spot stood out for its party reputation on the Bengal blogs and from locals I know. The protocol was first come, first serve cash at the door. A simply mission arose: outhustle the locals. Anthony and I made multiple calls to the Longworth staff leading up to the event to understand all terms. They were pretty standard: open 4 hrs before kickoff, one spot per car, etc. The last call presented an oddity, which was a 7AM lot open time. KC Will and I agreed the sun… but only the sun… could beat us to the lot. He struck first arriving around 8AM to claim our spot.
My van rolled in around 9AM — had to make a stop for a power strip — with all the noise. The group goal of hustling for prime space: check. My personal goal was to provide the loudest and best music on the lot. The loud box emphatically checked immediately. Best is a more nuanced endeavor. No less than 3 groups of Bengal fans stopped over to thank us for the great music, and let us know they shut theirs off. Mission accomplished. Anthony is legit.
Bengals’ fans do a nice job tailgating. Most people were nice and the barbs were sports related. It wasn’t Arrowhead, but let’s be honest, nothing else is.
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Paycor/Paul Brown Stadium
The first thing I look for when entering a stadium is the infrastructure. Paycor was solid, mostly easy to navigate, and looked clean and sharp. The first major test was a visit to the men’s room.
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I judge a stadium harshly based on how well facilitated it is. Paycor has large restrooms with many spots, and plenty of food and bev stops on the way. Nothing kills a vibe more than waiting in line to relieve yourself or get a beer. Paycor is top notch there. The most impressive feature was the sound system. No missing calls or announcements anywhere there.
The game atmosphere was fun too. Bengals fans have nice traditions such as the song after scores and the “Who Dey” chants. I never want to hear the words “Who Dey” ever again… but they bring it. My seats planted in the middle of locals, but all were good, knowledgeable sports fans. Good natured ribbing in the vein of supporting a team is what makes sports fun. There was plenty of it through the game and all the good game high fives after.
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Game Recap
My overall reaction to this game started and continues to focus on perspective. Does the result suck out loud? Yep. Was it fun to walk of shame back to the Longworth lot? Oh yeah. Ten hours of wind and cold burn didn’t help either. However, after all this it was a loss… in a single game. Football is a game of inches. This game truly came down to a small collection of factors, plays or inches, such as:
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• ONE turnover, the Kelce fumble
• A negated turnover via ticky-tacky PI call (to reiterate, I do not like blaming officials, but even the Bengal fans around me questioned that one)
• ONE “sack” of Burrow
• Missed 55 yard FG toward the open end of the stadium on a cold December evening
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I am a glass half full sports fan, and I wear it proudly on my sleeve. There is enough negative stuff in all our lives, and I do not need my sporting events actively contributing. I hate the result, but cannot muster rage. The CHIEFS are a good team in the middle of a 3rd loss and a #2 seed season. I kind of agree with Thornhill. That said, there is some stuff to work through soon to avoid this.
Major Concern
Let me start with the handful of things that do fit the major concern level for me:
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• Kelce doing extra and fumbling. He is the best TE in the game and arguably ever. This was a mistake, he owned it (see below), and he will get it right. Plus, he failed trying to win as opposed to trying not to lose.
• Butker FG miss. It was pretty obvious above, but I do not fault Butker for this one. I outlined his lack of my perceived focus a few weeks ago, and he has cleaned it up. He is on clean slate with me until he missed another PAT. A 55 yard FG equates to a 17′ jump shot, not a layup.
• Reid calling for a FG on 4th down. We cannot tell the D we don’t trust them in that spot even if that is the right answer. They are the unit we have, and the shakedowns can happen in the film room as opposed to TV.
• Mahomes missing McKinnon. Learn from it PM15. We all believe you will.
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Major Concern (for real this time)
So, what DOES concern me? MVS actively and graphically illustrated why the Packers let him walk. The Pack is my local team, so I am in the general know. Fans did not mind him leaving, and it’s games like this. For the record, most fans turned on Rodgers years ago and complain about the team all the time. It is quite infuriating as an objective 3rd party. We as a fan base flirt with this way to much. The MVS drop in the end zone killed me. Mahomes put it in front of him and hit him in the hands. It’s fair game — no it’s not — to yell at pee wee players for that kind of drop (but it is when a Professional athlete drops one).
The play that worked me up more was the 3rd and 20 at 11:40 in the 2nd quarter. Patrick chucked it deep, but MVS already pulled up and quit running. That play… I missed Tyreek. MVS was the leading CHIEFS receiver, so he is a major part of the game plan. He was also 2-of-6 on catching his targets. The CHIEFS are not replacing him, only supplementing. We are way too deep in the season. The CHIEFS need more from the #2 WR.
For the record, I truly believe this all goes down differently with Kadarius Toney and Mecole Hardman on the field, but MVS needs to get his act together yesterday.
This is Not the End
The 2022 season is far from over. Our CHIEFS get to lose 3-4 games a season without having to deal with an avalanche of negativity. The AFC Championship is the Arrowhead Invitational right now because that is all the more they lose. Buffalo and Cincinnati are good teams that simply beat another good team. Good teams win games. The Indy game is a clunker… no doubt about that. I think we can give them one clunker per season. The team — and fans for that matter — cannot, and should not, tolerate another clunker.
The CHIEFS have 5 games left, and a business approach likely means 5 wins. Losing should all be in the rear view. Seattle is the looming tough game, but any other loss (less a week 18 with the #1 seed wrapped up) will qualify as a clunker. Avoid the clunker, and take care of business. That’s what I expect to watch moving forward.
Bottom line: this Bengal win did not prove or guarantee a Bengal win for them this coming playoffs. That game was a sugar high for the Bengals and their fans. None of the Bengal fans in my section breathed until the final 1st down that allowed the kneel. A playoff rematch seems inevitable, and future results are TBD. The Bengals and their fans know it. So do the CHIEFS.
One more thing: what the actual #$%^&*@! was up with that fake injury. Bush league nonsense.
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Last Historical Perspective
Much ado is afoot regarding the current 0-3 Mahomes vs Burrow swoon. This is much ado about nothing. Our latest example before this came to an end just over 2 short years ago. The best game I ever attended live was the AFC Championship on January 19, 2020. Kansas City entered that game with a bad rush D and a series of losses to their opponent for the day: Derrick Henry’s Titans. Tennessee was riding a 3-game win streak in Arrowhead, and the Titan fans were quick to remind. I distinctly remember walking to the stadium from the lot in a massive crowd doing the chop. A Titans fan inserted himself in the group and loudly yelled: “Ooooooooooh and threeeeeeeeeee to Tennnnnnnnnnnn Uh Seeeeee” … as we journeyed to the gate. He was not wrong: 9/714, 12/18/16, and 1/6/18 (the last of which was a playoff game).
None of that stuff mattered by halftime. The CHIEFS took care of business that day, and followed it up by winning the Super Bowl. The AFC Championship will be in Arrowhead. Look at the Bengals, Ravens, Bills and Dolphins schedules vs the CHIEFS. It is destiny for the 5th Annual Arrowhead Invitational. No surprise necessary if the CHIEFS lift the Bengal curse, or reiterate by beating the Bills. Super Bowl or bust baby.
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Other Sport Side Stuff
Fred McGriff made the Hall of Fame via the Contemporary Era ballot. Congrats to him. I have quite fond memories watching him play for the awesome 90’s Braves teams. He had a 19-year career with 493 HR and 2,493 hits, and he retired in 2004. Apparently this is what will represent the 90’s in the Hall of Fame. Again, I like him and am happy for him, but this irks me a bit. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons and Mark McGuire all belong in the Hall. The Hall of Fame is a museum that should represent, not scrub, history. You cannot tell the story of Fred McGriff’s career timeline without mentioning those guys. Put whatever on the plaques calling them out, but put them on plaques. This is a baseball museum, not a hall of saints. Same goes for Pete Rose.
Cheers to the US Men’s National Team for the display in Qatar. Making it out of the group of death with England, Wales and Iran was an impressive accomplishment, and they should be proud. I am excited for 2026 and games on US soil. Now, let’s go England!!
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Media of the Week
My movie of the week is “Bull Durham.” I did not intend to stick with a baseball theme, but the Kevin Costner as Crash Davis speech crossed my mind today.
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My favorite line is the one that says:
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“I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment
outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter.”
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Why did I remember this? Because I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf, the designated hitter, and junior jets.
Final Take
I type this column usually on Wednesdays. This Wednesday is December 7th, which is Pearl Harbor Day. Never forget.
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne and ArrowheadKingdom
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