Chiefs: By the Hair of Their Chinny-Chin-Chin – By now everyone has heard that the Kansas CIty Chiefs have won their last six games by less than a touchdown, and no other team in NFL history has ever had such a streak. The reality is, the Chiefs past six victories have been by an average score of just 4 points. Close call? Oh, you could say that, and if you did, you’d be absolutely right.
While the closeness of the Chiefs previous half dozen games may be a growing concern, when seen within the context of a whole season of road wins, it may look like the opposite: a strength. The Chiefs have won road games over the: Chargers, Ravens, Bills, Broncos, Raiders, Buccaneers, Dolphins and Saints. Not murderer’s row, but also not the easiest road schedule by any means either. With the AFC Conference winner playing the role of a visiting team, the Chiefs next road win may be for a Super Bowl victory.
Of course, there are differing theories about why the Chiefs are “keeping games close” but, I don’t buy into those seemingly conspiracy whack-o-doodles.
The one point Shannon Sharpe shares which I’ll give credence to is: when you play in close games and win them, it toughens you up. While I find it hard to believe that playing close games is done by any kind of strange design, the fact that Chiefs players have played in these games and then come through with wins, is reaffirming for them.
What’s the old saying? “Close only counts in Horseshoes and Hand Grenades” well… football is not either of those. However, Patrick Mahomes does look like the kind of QB who is getting used to doing just enough to win and many elite athletes have that component in their DNA. While that may be a concern to some, it may be a sign of continual dominance. One explanation may have to do with testosterone. In a piece written by Angela Grippo, Ph.D., called, The Biological Basis for the ‘Thrill of Victory’, she says,
Testosterone levels help explain which lawyers thrive in the competitive atmosphere of the courtroom and which prefer the quiet solitude of the patent desk. Testosterone also explains who will rise to the top of a dominance hierarchy and who will sink to the bottom. Testosterone makes you feel powerful and potent.
Grippo goes on to explain a study which was done to measure the testosterone levels of competitive participants and found that even though they had notified a certain group of graduate level students that they had won, when there was no reason for doing so, those same graduate level students showed higher levels of testosterone. Proves the old adage: For as a man thinketh, a man is. A kind of “win-and-you’re-in” result too.
The correlation here is that… the more the Chiefs register wins, the more they will feel the result of those wins. As expected, Grippos states,
Thus, a boost in testosterone appears to be part of the thrill of winning — and a drop in testosterone, part of the agony of defeat.
Sounds right huh? The more you win… the more you will win. Right? The problem is, it doesn’t take into account the near misses. Is the thrill of victory (a testosterone rush) more when you almost lose, but end up winning?
That, I can’t say for sure. However… the study that Grippo refers to says that fans will feel the same as the members of the team they’re cheering. Which should explain 49 years of lower testosterone in Kansas City and it may also explain the feeling of: “Don’t get my hopes up!”
Actually, that feeling may better be identified by a study called The Psychology of the Near Miss by R.L. Reid. The Near Miss Theory is what may have been affecting us Kansas Citians for the better part of the last five decades and just because the Chiefs won the most recent Super Bowl, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s evaporated into the ether:
A near miss is a special kind of failure to reach a goal, one that comes close to being successful.
So, it’s not a big leap to see that when the Chiefs only win by a few points — especially after six games in a row of that kind of winning — it may end up producing that same ole, same ole, sinking, losing feeling. This is the opposite though. The Chiefs have a near miss win, instead of a new miss loss… which would mean they nearly won.
Of course, another reason for all of these close victories is… the Chiefs are getting every team’s best shot. Playing the Chiefs is like their own personal Super Bowl game!
The Good News
The good news is that this is only affecting Chiefs fans who have been Chiefs fans for a long long time… like myself. In other words, and much more importantly, the Kansas City Chiefs players don’t — and can’t — feel the any of those old sinking feeling because they haven’t been there and haven’t done that. Any of that! They’ve only been around a few years and in all the years they have been here… they’ve been winners and have already built up that kind of testosterone that comes from the consistent: Thrill of Victory. Plus, going 13-and-1 has to make the Chiefs players feel pretty darn good about their chances over the next six week of play (notice what I did there?).
While I still hope these close call wins don’t come back to bite the Chiefs in the patooty, the research appears to show they have built up a kind of immunity to losing. Well, not so much an “immunity to losing” as… a “sensitivity for winning.” 22 wins in the last 23 games (including the playoffs) will do that to you. Especially since they have Patrick Mahomes steering their ship. Mahomes has 112 career touchdown passes so far, which makes him the 3rd QB with at least 110 TDs in his first four years… in NFL history. Plus, Mahomes continues to break records:
I could go on about Patrick Mahomes, but he’s the biggest reason — a monumental reason — to not be overly concerned about these, too close for comfort, victories. Maybe I’m just talking to myself here. Anyone else feeling it?
Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne
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