The weekend of football — plus Monday — was wild. Dare I say it was as wild as it’s namesake card. My quick hitting highlights:
- Our Chiefs went marching on and,
- Big Ben went out to pasture
- Bill Belchick suffered a humiliating loss
- Raiders fans received another multi-decade grievance via whistle that wasn’t
- The Cardinals may have played a game
- Also possible the Eagles played
- The Cowboys answered the age old question about the benefits of running a QB draw with 14 seconds and no timeouts
I will get into my extended thoughts on the Chiefs win and Divisional match-ups in a bit… after story time.
Mr. Kingsley Goes to Madison
I made my way to the State Capital for a wedding show (tons of these going on now, so this will not be the last reference) and a concert. My columns have referenced family and music multiple times, and this will present another data point for each.
Another thing I like is history, and this weekend gave me that as well. I bring up history and family because the show I saw was “Alabama.” The venerable band from Fort Payne, AL that did this among other things:
- Revolutionized country music with a rock vibe
- Owned the 80s with 21 straight #1 hits
- Influenced every country group since
- 12 #1 albums and another 2 top 10
- 40 #1 songs across all charts with 33 hitting the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Country list
- Defined music for at least a couple generations of country fans
Some of the above are hard facts, and the rest are what I consider gospel. I saw the group with my wife and a couple other friends. We all loved the show, but I was the only lifetime country music fan. I loved the show the most of our group, and it wasn’t close. They played a formative role of my musical tastes on country chalk rock roads in rural Kansas.
That Call Out to Family
I was born in 1981, so I was not the one driving the backroads and picking the music. That fell on my parents, grandparents, or other aunts, uncles, etc. These were all country fans in some capacity and Alabama owned the decade, so I heard them all the time. The first songs I remember retaining are “40 Hour Week (For A Livin’),” “Song of the South,” and “High Cotton.” They are still personal favorites, but at the time served as a good reminder for a farm kid: work hard and help the world move. Pretty common themes for the Midwest, and I consider that a good thing.
I have a great relationship with my parents, and I have made that clear here. What I have maybe alluded to, but not mentioned in detail, is that extends in a much broader sense. I have great relationships with my aunts and uncles and cousins, and also with my grandparents. My grandparents are all gone, but they lived impactful lives. Here are my collective favorite things to remember:
- Raised their families from 14 when parents died
- Played ball in front of the troops during WW2 (while serving, and also had a shot at MLB but wanted a family more)
- Taught school and impacted many (one of my 70 year old bosses told me all about it one time – it included learning and a crush)
- Raised 9 kids (who were heathens that went on to raise my generation of heathens) without killing anyone
- Fed America as farmers (planting crops as late as 95 years old)
- Kept schools full of kids fed as well
- Assembled families with very little drama that actually like each other
I miss them all, but love what I learned from them. They are an important part of my history.
Back to That Concert
I went to Alabama because of the history, and this wasn’t because they are old. They look and act old. The tour is a 50th anniversary tour, so they have the right to be old. What was not old is how they sounded. Lead singer, Randy Owen, in particular hit and held every note. Jeff Cook, guitarist, was not present for this show. He announced a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2017. Bass player, Teddy Gentry, is the most spry of the original trio, and he put on a show. The rest of the touring crew appeared to be more around my age and the luckiest musicians in the world. Special shout to the fiddle player: my buddy has a major crush on you!! They played the hits, and it was incredible. I highly recommend catching them this tour as they are not getting any younger.
Let’s take a brief moment from musical nostalgia to give a shout to opener Jake Hoot. The show date was a Covid reschedule from last year. Madison locked down hardest in the State, and it had to move. During the Alabama tour the openers included Travis Tritt, Martina McBride, Marshall Tucker Band, Tracy Lawrence and Jake Hoot. I was rooting for Tritt, but really wanted anyone but Jake. Jake won Season 17 of The Voice, and that was the extent of my knowledge pre-show. I recall telling the group I expected him to be a good singer that will play covers, and I was right. My favorite was his rendition of Blackhawk’s “Goodbye Says It All,” which I mentioned in my 90’s country column. I loved his set, and will see him again. Jake is a deserved opener for Alabama.
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Take the Time and Make the Trip
Time is the resource we cannot renew, and we get what we get. That goes for everyone. I have put focus on taking the time and being present. My good relationship with grandparents resulted from that. I take the same approach to music. My first run at seeing a legend was right after college. I moved to Denver without a job (don’t recommend) and was broke as expected. A job finally landed, but the financial situation was roughly the same. Then I saw Eric Clapton‘s tour was hitting the Pepsi Center.
I cannot recall what I spent on the ticket, but I do know it was nosebleed and way more than I had business spending on a ticket, but I did it anyway, because I had no idea when I would have a chance to see him again. A college friend had the line that convinced me: “buy the ticket and don’t worry where the seat is, you will be in the same room as the best guitar player ever.” I have no business as a financial advisor, but that was the right call for me and I believe my life is better for seeing Clapton.
Some Other Legends I’ve Seen
Since that time I have seen Paul’s McCartney and Simon. Both guys were Summerfest (I will write a column dedicated to this thing someday) headliners, and the shows were incredible. Alan Jackson came to the Wisconsin State Fair a few years ago and he still puts on a hell of show. He is a 60 year old that looks and moves like he’s 40. Which is different than Randy Owen who is 70 and looks and moves like he’s 90. My wife was quick to mention that seeing Alabama was not like seeing Alan Jackson, and she wasn’t wrong. Another great legend show was ELO. They played in Hays, KS when I was in high school. I liked that show, but did not fully appreciate that concert. That is the concert I would kill to see again now with my pure adoration for that band.
But my best legend show to date was 10/24/15 when I saw Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. I made a light attempt to get my wife and a couple other friends to join, but there was lukewarm response. This was not a problem. I was perfectly fine going to church on my own. Willie Nelson put on a show. I fully expect that guy to outlive Betty White and die on stage well into his hundreds. Incredible performer. Merle was in form, but showed his age. I distinctly remember feeling happy and grateful I chose to see that show, and told all my friends and family just that. Merle essentially stopped touring shortly after and died the following April. I don’t bring this up to gloat, but more to reiterate my point.
Make the Time, Avoid Regret
I have two concerts that haunt me. The first carries fuzzy details. Sometime in the 2012 time frame I Googled George Jones to see if there was a tour. There was. The dates and locations were odd and sporadic. Nothing close to Milwaukee. The “close” spots were in way south Indiana and South Dakota – I think. I honestly don’t remember the circumstances beyond thinking the trip was too hard. Should have made it happen.
However, the decision I question often is Summerfest in July 2017. My festival featured a back to back headline shows on July 5th and 6th, which were Wednesday and Thursday. This artist came about every other year, and I always had a conflict. I have no clue what I did either of those nights, but it was basically nothing. In fact, I remember talking with one of my videographers about the show and we agreed to catch him next time. The show was Tom Petty and he died 10/2/17, so I will never see him live. I called my youngest sister the next day, told her to book a flight to MKE from PHX, and I bought tickets for Brand New’s final show in Chicago on 10/16. We saw the show and avoid the feeling I have from skipping Tom Petty.
Game Time Works Out
I made a comment last time about the NFL Saturday flex of the Chiefs-Broncos game. That comment was rage due to Saturday evening taking me from my watch party. My January weekends are dynamically busy, and none more than Wild Card weekend. I can normally make any Sunday work, but Saturdays are tough. The NFL did me a solid with a Sunday night game. A 7:15 kickoff made my Sunday comfortable. I was able to tear down my wedding show, drive back to MKE, drop everything off, have a beer, grab the fam, and make it to the watch party 10 minutes before kickoff.
Then I got to watch the CHIEFS demolish the Steelers for a second time in a month. I love the Chiefs advance and I hate the Steelers, so this was a good night. The first win was the day after Christmas, so I got to watch with Bryan in Hays. I watched the playoff win with my crew in MKE, which included Chris. Bryan and Chris are my Arrowhead Kingdom CHIEFScast guys, so I relish the chance to watch with them live.
Wild Card Win Recap
Here are my major observations from the game:
- The 7 seeds proved to be a disaster of gamesmanship. They could not have been worse for the playoff football product. However, we did have Steelers and Eagles fans engaged, and that is a win for the NFL. Plus, this CHIEFS Steelers games had almost 23M viewers, which is up 6% from the comp Steelers Browns from last year, so people clearly cared. You win, NFL.
- Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have a switch and TJ Watt (appropriate last name when talking switches) found it. His slide into the end zone on the fumble return was the game’s turning point. Traditionally, a score like that means momentum for the Steelers. Not last Sunday. This was more like Watt accidentally unearthing Cthulhu to rain terror on the poor Steelers D. I talk extensively with with Mark Van Sickle from Arrowhead Report on my latest podcast about this. (embed code: <iframe src=”https://anchor.fm/akchiefscast/embed/episodes/Wild-Card-Week-Recap–Playoff-Review-w-Mark-Van-Sickle-from-Arrowhead-Report-e1d40vq” height=”102px” width=”400px” frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>)
- That switch led to the fastest 5 TDs in history. Patrick Mahomes threw his in 10 minutes and 30 seconds of game time. This comfortably beat Tom Brady’s 25 min effort.
- Mahomes needs to Michael Jordan more drama in his head. The AFC playoff bracket features 3 teams that beat the CHIEFS this year, so the fabrication is simple.
- The Chiefs win was more impressive than the Bills over Patriots.
- Big Ben and the Steelers may have been genuine saying they did not deserve to be there.
- That end to the Cowboys game was a joke and it wasn’t event part of this game.
The Chiefs have a simple task this weekend: score early, protect the ball, flex the D we solidified in the second half of the season, and give Buffalo the retributive beating they deserve. I expect this. Cream will rise and the CHIEFS will be in the AFC Championship for a 4th year in a row.
Big Wad of Playoff Stuff
The Wild Card weekend played out mostly as I called it. Here are my picks for transparency and a comment on the losing team after the contests:
- Bengals over Raiders
- 1-5 in the Red Zone = loss, no whistle in the 2nd quarter = irrelevant
- Bills over Patriots
- Holy beatdown Batman, did anything go right for the Pats?
- Bucs over Eagles
- Did anyone tell Jalen Hurts he can throw receivers open on 1:1 routes?
- Cowboys over 49ers
- 14 penalties and the dumbest end of game play call I can remember
- Chiefs over Steelers
- Mind games aside (like I said above, it may have been honesty) – y’all knew you did not belong there
- Rams over Cardinals
- Did anyone tell the Cardinals their season is over with a loss?
We have a fun slate ahead of us this Divisional Weekend too.
My Picks
This is going to scoop my picks video, but here goes:
- Titans over Bengals
- Packers over 49ers
- Bucs over Rams
- CHIEFS over Bills
All chalk. We are one step closer to the ever elusive Chiefs-Packers Super Bowl I rematch, and I cannot wait.
An Ode to Big Ben
Big Ben Roethlisberger played his last game. It is not yet official, but his commentary confirmed what everyone knows. He went down like a warrior. It was not as suspenseful as the 300 scene I described here, but he played out the game. I tip my hat to the guy I have never liked, but have always respected as a football player (very clear – not a person, a football player) with these thoughts:
- 18 years in league
- Zero losing seasons
- 2x Super Bowl Champ
- First in 2005 got The Bus his (was a fan that year)
- Second prevented Fitz getting his but that Santonio Holmes pass burned in mind
- 2x led the league in passing Yds most recently in 2018 w/ 5129
- Holds the NFL record for being sacked with 554
- 36 post season TD
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- 2006 motorcycle wreck without valid license and not wearing helmet
- 2009 civil suite for sexual assault in Nevada
- 2010 Milledgeville, GA incident
The league will never be the same.
Travis Kelce
We are watching the best TE in Chiefs history. I acknowledge every Tony G counterpoint, and I have his Jersey. Tony was my favorite Chief until Jamaal Charles, and I wish those two could time machine into this offense with Mahomes, Hill and Kelce… but… like many crimes, this is a time/place thing and Kelce is the king. Kelce is 4th all time with 10 TD catches, and needs 3 to get to 3rd (Jerry Rice 22, Gronk 15, John Stallworth 12). He just caught a TD, threw a TD and had a 100+ receiving yards. That made up a record no one was thinking of breaking.
Plus, his mom is the current belt holder as Champion of Pro Athlete Parents.
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne
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