Josh Kingsley

I was a bit short on angle material for this week. My initial thought was to talk about how this core of the Chiefs is potentially tiring of one another. Then I saw this gem from Chris Thomas on Arrowhead Kingdom, called: “The Boiling Point?” and it covers the subject perfectly. I don’t want to simply rehash a bunch of what he says, and I pretty much am in step with him the whole way of his article, but I will add one quick note.

The movie That Thing You Do is a personal fave. I love the story and the cast, but most of all I love the music. It is the perfect tale of the meteoric rise of a one hit wonder as they ride the wave of their infectious pop hit to the top. My personal favorite thing about the music is the contributions from Adam Schlesinger, who was a founding member of the Band Fountains of Wayne. I adore that band and all their music. Adam was a 2020 COVID casualty, and that is a major loss for the music world. The reason I bring up that movie — aside from an excuse to mention Fountains of Wayne — is the scene at the Blue Spot jazz club.

Guy Patterson, drummer for the band, heads out for the night, sees an incredible drum solo, and ultimately meets his musical idol, Del Paxton. They have a drink and Del gives this quote:

“Ain’t no way to keep a band together. Bands come and go.

You got to keep on playin’, no matter with who.”

He adds that there are many reasons bands break up, but sometimes the members just cannot spend anymore time together.

The recent Tyrann Mathieu and Anthony Hitchens blow ups gave me that vibe a bit. Mathieu backtracking and the team winning this week makes me believe we can potentially push that back a bit. Before talking more Chiefs, I’d like to share some…

Childhood Thoughts

I kept that first part short because I have a different thought for the week. Everyone who reads my columns here should not be surprised when I say that I could easily stretch that to 1500+ words, and I mean that for both That Thing You Do and Fountains of Wayne. My approach for this week materialized about an hour before I wrote this column, and it came in the form of an unexpected text. I am writing as I watch the Braves put a beating on the Houston Astros and look to close out the World Series. The text I got was from my dad recalling our time watching the Braves in the World Series when I was a kid.

A Little Family Background for Me

I have mentioned before that I am from Kansas. To be more specific I am from very rural Western Kansas and lived on a farm until 7th grade when we moved to town, and I do mean town, not city. One of the joys of growing up out there was the TV situation. We always had CBS and KOOD, the public broadcast system. However, on a really good, clear day we could get half an NBC signal. If you are keeping score at home you will notice that Fox and ABC were not a thing in my neck of the woods. This meant that the game was pretty much never on. It wasn’t an option and the cows and chickens didn’t care either.

I am the oldest of 3 kids, and part of a family of 5. My relationship with my parents and sisters is excellent, and pretty much always has been. I have enjoyed the happiness and privilege of a constant, stable family situation. It even extends to both of my parent’s sides. I grew up believing families were all tight and unified based on my experience. Things started to click in college that my situation is unique, and it really sunk in during early adulthood. I started telling people I grew up in a Norman Rockwell painting… because I really did.

Parental Direction

My parents raised me to be ambitious, but they really ground in being present and useful. I learned at a very young age that being on time to work and not standing around requires zero talent. That means there is no excuse to mess up on either. The results are still with me as I pretty much avoid down time like the plague and pack my calendar tight. Quiet is not my favorite thing. This whole thing worked out particularly well for the farm life. There is always a chore that can be done. It is often an early morning, and while most farm work isn’t hard to do, but it requires massive effort.

I have to point out that my parents did not raise me to be a sports fanatic. That was, for the most part, me. Recall the TV situation and the load of farm work, and note that watching the game with regularity was not a priority. This did not mean that my dad — dialing the focus to him — did not like sports. It more meant that only the really big games would get him up and excited. Furthermore, it was the big games that happened to end up on CBS that really got the living room attention.

Timing Is Everything

I have aged myself a bit, but will remind y’all that I turned 40 this summer. My first real burned memories are in the 5 year old range, and the true independent thinking probably happened in the 10 year range. These are broad brush comments, but they line well with how I remember this. So I take you back to 1991 when I was 10. The fall colors are showing and some of the super important sports are on CBS. In this particular situation it is the Atlanta Braves playing the Minnesota Twins for the World Series. I distinctly remember the cellar to series branding as both were break out teams. The baseball world still mostly belonged to the Bash Brother, and we were all just along for the ride.

Dad and I watched the NLCS and the World Series diligently that year. In my neck of the woods we were Royals fans, but they were often not a factor, not on TV much, and almost never on a network. The majority of guys my age from my area will admit to being something of a

Braves or Cubs fan at some point of their childhood. There is a smaller group that this time stamp of the early 90s made Pirates fans. We were Braves fans in our house. I was glued to the TV as much as I was allowed (dang homework and bed times) watching the World Series. I note this a solid foundation for the massive tower of sports fanaticism I live today.

Back to That Text

I keep very much in touch with my parents. That does not mean we talk every day, but it is often. We have many things aside from being family in common. Most notably we are all 3 small business owners, and all our companies have a strong service side. An hour can chew up quickly when we discuss things like the joys of employees and high strung customers. I live 13 hours from my home town, but the drive back for Thanksgiving is a non-negotiable. It is common for me to load the wife and kids in the van and make the trip 1-3 more times a year as well. My parents and siblings make in up to Milwaukee often as well.

All of that sets the scene for this comment: it’s kind of odd to get a text from my dad at 7:00 PM on a Tuesday. This is for a few reasons. First, I’m surprised he’s not asleep on the chair acting like he’s watching TV. Second, he more often calls than texts. Finally, the event stuff normally comes from my mom… but out of the blue I get a text from my dad in the middle of the first inning of game 6 of the 2021 World Series. It was a pretty simple reminder that — we watched Braves World Series games together in the past — and that he views it as a fond memory. I could not agree more.

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This all hit me for a particular reason after week 8 for the NFL season. A big part of the national media has taken to ribbing the Chiefs, and an even larger part is simply writing them off and refusing to cover. I have remained pretty calm and optimistic this season, and it is for multiple reasons. The first is that I truly believe the Chiefs are a playoff team, and then an insanely hard out. The current state of the team does not make the current top AFC teams look forward to Mahomes and company coming to town in January. Our Chiefs are a team that scares opponents due to recent history, if nothing else. I 100% believe that.

The other reason I remain in a positive space is my main enjoyment of the NFL is watching games with friends and family. [Editor’s Note: please see Josh’s first piece for ArrowheadOne called: “Chiefs 2020 Vision: My Favorite Game Last Year“]. My enjoyment of the text from my dad was remembering a simpler time and watching baseball. That is giving me peace watching the Chiefs stumble on their way to a 4-and-4 record. Nothing can change the feeling I had with my group in Milwaukee the night of February 2, 2020.

The best part of watching sports and being a fanatic is… the company!

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About That Chiefs-Giants Game

I went into this game against the Giants in the same frame of mind as most every game: this is the one where we’ll turn it around. My expectation was a double digit win, and the 10.5 betting line did not throw me off. The first offensive drive gave me the belief that this was possible. Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes had the short yardage game complicated by the running game absolutely humming. It was a beautiful thing to watch. That is until Jerrick McKinnon forgot that volleyball was not the game. An enticing first drive ended up in an INT. Gotta take a moment to give it up for the D: they took it right back. Say what you will about it being the Giants, the fact remains, Mahomes had the ball back in his hands with the same score 3 plays after his INT.

The real offensive highlight of this game was RB Derrick Gore. Fans were upset when he did not make the final 53, and this week, on MNF, those feelings were justified. Gore’s 4.4 YPC and one (1) rushing TD made him the most effective runner on the field.

That is something to build on, and a necessary development for the Packers game this Sunday. The Packers and company will come to town on max rest (though Aaron Rodgers is out) and on a high from knocking the Cardinals down a peg. An effective running game coupled with an efficient passing game will be key to victory. I believe the Chiefs can win this game. However, it will have to be prettier than the performance against the Giants.

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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne

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You can also follow Josh on Twitter at: @mkechiefsfans

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