Chiefs 2020 Vision: My Favorite Game Last Year

I’d like to introduce you to our newest writer, Josh Kingsley. Josh is a Kansas born farm kid, and a lifelong fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. He grew up in the Marty Ball era rooting for Derrick Thomas and the defense he anchored while pining away for the day a QB would come to town to bring it all together. After completing his MBA at Fort Hays State University, he ventured west to Denver. Taking up residence in Bronco country further galvanized his Chiefs fandom. Fate eventually landed him in the Milwaukee area where he resides today with his wife, two kids, and two cats. Yes, he likes dogs too, but says he, “Doesn’t have a yard he believes one would deserve.” Smart man! Josh’s wife will confirm he is a fan of all sports foreign and domestic and can always find a game to watch. Please help me welcome Josh Kingsley to the ArrowheadOne family. –Laddie, Editor, ArrowheadOne

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Also, Josh has worked with another Chiefs website called, Arrowhead Kingdom. He says that if you’re ever in the Milwaukee area he’d love to host you for their game day watch party.

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by Josh Kingsley

I think we can all agree on one thing: the 2021 NFL season cannot get here fast enough. I know that we are back on schedule, and I know that everything is happening on time, but it just feels late. It feels like we should be a month into the season talking about the contenders and pretenders… and when will they finally get their first win. What am I basing this on? Nothing really more than the vibe I get every time I talk football with anyone. We are all done talking about the offseason that will not die. Tom Brady’s injuries and Aaron Rodgers’ attitudes have been beaten into the ground, and we’re all over bored. So my new angle is, a reflection.

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My Favorite 2020 Memory

I can’t just answer this right away, or with a single answer, and I hope we are all on the same page about that truth. So here are my top 3 games/memories from the 2020 season.

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This game could easily be #1 simply because it was played. The  world headed out of last summer without NFL camps or preseason, and looking down the barrel of a fall without football. The NFL and its controlling style of leadership has its obvious flaws, but they knocked it out of the park last season. The world spent last fall on fire, but the NFL continued with business as usual and gave us a full season. It went so swimmingly well that we all kind of looked the other way when they dumped the 17th game on us that many did not really want… but I came here to talk about a game. Right.

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This game made my list due to a few memories. The first must mention is the fact that we beat the brakes off a Houston team many expected to be good. The Texans sucked in hindsight, but business was handled. Box checked. The digital connections are what stick out to me for this game. The Milwaukee watch party ended up being a Zoom call while we hit our home prime times. The first game of the season runs on Thursday, and we got to care beyond the basics of football being on. The Zoom was not our normal bar, but I got to know some new people. We also used it as an opportunity to catch up with some old friends who had moved to new cities.

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I could not take the context of life last year and write a better script to start the season. It was poetry. That we read in our living rooms in front of a laptop, but it was indeed poetry.

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The Super Bowl dry run. The Chiefs were checking out the field they planned to take in February. We all knew it, and saying it out loud did not make us delusional. Tom Brady making the big game was not a shock. But I did not expect it. I really did not expect it after the first half. The Chiefs showed a potential flaw of not finishing, but on this day they completed the job. This game was also a bit memorable because I had recently started the CHIEFScast YouTube series and the content was easy to design after this game. However, the most memorable part was once again the setting.

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I mention the YT series mainly to reflect on how it came together. A high school friend, watch party friend and I connected to fill some of the infinite amount of work from home time we stumbled on in 2020. The sticking memory for this game was the company. I got to watch the game with my parents, nephews and brother in law. This was the first time in many years and it was possible because I was back in Kansas for Thanksgiving (My Super Bowl of Holidays BTW). Plus, I didn’t have to rush out to get back to the office Monday.

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This leads me to my #1, which has to be a playoff or high leverage game…

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Or it has to be some random December game against a fringe playoff team. This game sticks out to me for a number of reasons. We found out how good the Dolphins might get around to being in the near future if it comes together for them. They are a compelling team as constructed, and I believe they control every draft first round until 2053. 😁 It was a return to Hard Rock, and we got to remember a time when the Chiefs were champs and the world was normal.

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The lasting memory of this game was — once again — the watch party. It was at our normal place in Milwaukee. We had a standard sized group. The watch intensity was casual as it was against a fringe team in early December. Why would we pay more attention to that than our side conversations and beer? It was how we did these games all the time prior to 2020. Our group is hardcore. We know when to pay attention, when to cheer, and when to lock in. We also know when to breathe and when to chat. That was this game. We were back.

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Community

My favorite memory from last year is the Chiefs community we have built in Milwaukee, and I’m guessing that it’s the same as the community anyone reading this has in their neck of the woods. We all saw 2020 and none of us liked it… but every step we take towards normalcy (and back from 2020 to observe) lends an opportunity to be grateful. For me it is for my community, and I look forward to sharing the upcoming season with it.

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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne

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