Building A Chief Fan Of The Future: Part 3 – Game Day
It is Monday morning and we are enjoying the after effects of a Kansas City Chiefs victory at Arrowhead. The day included awesome weather, and early morning tailgate and basking in the sun in the upper level seats of the stadium.
Time to Tailgate
As I mentioned in my prior article, we got the early-parking-pass this year, so we could avoid the rush. This worked out great as we got a prime spot in the Red “O” lot. We arrived about 8:00 AM and set up the “Tailgate in a Box”, a couple of $6 folding chairs, donuts, and some music.
As we relaxed in the atmosphere of Arrowhead, eating donuts and watching the parking lot come to life, we could hear the anthem singer warming up and smell the charcoal firing up. At about 10:00 we fired up the grill. The charcoal and mini grill worked like a charm — once we got the hotel matches to stay lit in the wind — the kit worked pretty well. I think I would get the larger size next time. We didn’t really need all the plates, cups, silverware, but it is a bigger cooler, comes with a lighter, and folds out into a table.
We threw on some hot dogs, hot sausage links, and a can of chili. The grill cooked quickly and we were eating by 10:30. I think the boys enjoyed the popcorn and Capri Suns more than the hotdogs, but to each his own.
Cars, vans, mini-busses, and many other vehicles continued to stream into the lot and set up their own tailgates. From what some of our neighbor said, the traffic getting into the lot was taking longer than normal. They said they waited for at least 45 minutes to get onto the lot, once they were close. (NotE to self: GET EARLY ENTRY AGAIN NEXT YEAR).
At about 11:00 AM we headed to the stadium to get in and see what was happening in Arrowhead. Security was a breeze, except to get a tag for my nephew’s diaper bag. Once done, we are on our way up the ramp to the upper level.
We check out the Chiefs gear, stand briefly, then head on to the seats. We bought some items on Saturday in the Pro Shop and didn’t see anything else we had to have right then. We decided to forego the walk to the Hall-of-Honor, since we had the little guy this year, but we did pick up some more drinks and snacks and then started the climb to our seats.
The timing worked out perfectly as… right about the moment we were sitting down the New Orleans Saints took the field. Then came the Chiefs, they announced the starting defense on this day. When they fired off the flame machines, we could feel it all the way across the stadium in the upper level. Impressive. National Anthem, coin toss, and the kickoff in order.
Game Time
We started a little slow and the Saints came out with a touchdown drive. Although they were up a touchdown, I wasn’t too worried at this point, given that we seem to like to start playing after halftime. In this case, I was pleasantly surprised that we decided to get started a little early on this Sunday and score some in the first half.
The Chiefs got the scoring started with a little screen pass to Spencer Ware that he was able to ramble on down to the end zone for a 46-yard score. As nice as it is to score, my first thought was “Oh no, a screen worked.” Again to my surprise, we didn’t run that many on the day.
A little while later, the defense got into the game and created an interception, bringing it back for the score. Daniel Sorensen even put a little move on Drew Brees (the first time he put Brees on the ground Sunday).
There were two other offensive plays that stood out to me and were key to the victory. The first is the reception by Tyreek Hill for 38-yard-touchdown. I watched the replay a few times and keep thinking what an incredible play it was. Hill blows by the receiver several yards outside the end zone, fights through an arm grab, catches the ball with his left hand while diving, and still brings it in. Simply awesome. We aren’t used to those kinds of plays in KC during the last decade or so. Not only did Alex Smith trust enough to lob it up for a receiver that was pretty well covered, but it also had nice timing and placement for Hill to go get it with his speed.
The second impressive play was Smith to Chris Conley for a 17-yard first-down late in the game. This was crucial in maintaining control of the ball and allowing the offense to run more time off the game clock. Again, Smith trusted the receiver enough to throw it into a contested situation and he put it in a perfect spot for Conley to get it. Conley continues to show he can be trusted to use his size and strength to make the big plays when needed.
The only other play I wanted to mention was the late in the game fumble the defense forced and recovered. Backed-up and defending in our own red zone, the Saints drive was stopped cold when Ron Parker came in and knocked the ball free. Marcus Peters scooped it up and amazingly only returned it 22 yards. Nonetheless, Saints don’t get any points and it is the Chiefs ball. Well done.
The only thing that was disappointing was coming out in the second half and riding the lead. It looked like the offense got super conservative and played not to lose. Whether that was Reid’s play calling or AS11 deciding he wasn’t going to risk the game, I don’t know. Only up 2 touchdowns, we shouldn’t be taking the foot off the gas yet. We need to keep playing to score touchdowns. While I don’t think this means slinging the ball all over the field, I do think we need to take moderate risks and keep the opposing defense honest. I was more worried about the Saints ability to tee-off on our players because they knew we weren’t going to try anything downfield.
All in all a great day was had by the family. The Chiefs get the win and we head home happy. Then it was back to the hotel to relax and pack up for the trip home.
And there’s The Rub.
Editor’s Note: I especially want to thank Frank Leggio for this piece. Not only for your time and attention to detail but to share a huge family-day with all of us goes above and beyond our dreams and expectations at AO. If we had an award for our writers (and we should… maybe something like: The Spirit of What it Means to Be a Chiefs Fan award), you would most certainly deserve it. Again, thank you so much for taking us along on your personal journey, and all the stages that led up to it: one that your kids will be able to read, and re-read about, for years to come!