Chiefs Fans: I Love Kelce, I Love Him Not…

I am more than glad to be out of the Dallas area where anything on the radio and TV was all about the Cowboys. However, being back in Kansas City (I lived here 20 yeas ago) has it’s own set of very interesting challenges, from a fan-dom stand point. While living in Texas I would often use my phone to listen to K.C. radio stations so I could follow the Chiefs. Here in K.C. the Chiefs are plastered everywhere, which is refreshing, but it also means that some fans can get carried away treating the Chiefs more like an obsession than your normal fan-worship (I like to tell myself that I’m not obsessed but only a Chiefs worshiper and that makes me feel much better about myself).

Allow me to cut through the bull and say, that some Chiefs fans are upset with Travis Kelce because of his on-field high-jinks and feel that he should be dealt a mighty blow (not sure what that means, am still trying to figure it out).

So, let me make my position about Travis Kelce perfectly clear: I love him. Nooo… not LOVE-love, just plain old football love. That is to say, I think Travis Kelce could go on making his foolish mishaps the rest of his career as far as Im concerned… with one caveat: IF he continues to produce like he has.

Now, you might be saying, “But what about if Kelce costs the team a game?” My response? Kelce has already been responsible for helping the team win many games so if he has to express his passion by doing lame brained things like he did last Sunday… I’m alright with it. Of course, at the time, in the heat of things, I was yelling at him (through the television screen of course — isn’t it great that we humans can get away with yelling at inanimate objects without others locking us up in a house of cray-cray) and saying what an idiot I thought he was. However, when you step back away from the game a few days you begin for see Kelce’s overall value to the team.

If you’re one of those fans who has called in to the local radio station and professed that Kelce should be punished or banished, I’m sorry to tell you this but, you’re wrong. I understand your vitriol for his actions, but by now you should realize that when speaking about Travis Kelce, it comes with the territory. Don’t forget what the traveling salesman in the all time great musical, “The Music Man,” said, “But, you gotta know the territory!”

Even Travis Kelce’s own brother knows his brother’s limitations (of course he would).

One problem for Travis Kelce that has arisen out of his most recent mishaps is that he had professed months ago that he has learned his lesson… and that you won’t see him doing those kinds of things anymore. I think he coined the words, “Mature Leader.” Sam Mellinger makes it clear:

Mature Leader? If you’re thinking that Travis Kelce is going to be a “Mature Leader” you might want to think again. If you want him to lead on the field of play with his passion… you’re probably going to continue to get this type of behavior.

The issue of Kelce’s behavior has become another matter for head coach Andy Reid. Reid was questioned repeatedly about Kelce’s behavior and asked if he was going to do anything about it and his terse response was,

“Travis knows how I think.”

“That’s between Travis and I.”

“Yeah, he knows.”

“I told him when he gets done, I’ll kick him out of here, he’s going to become a writer, so he can do all that stuff.””

“Yeah, I’ve taken care of it, (in a raised voice)”

“[If] you want to ask me again, I’ll give you the same answers. You got it? Is it clear to you?”

Wow, nice slam on journalists. It was also clear that Reid had some energy behind his statements and was irritated by the line of questioning.

If I was asking the questions, I probably wouldn’t go there. However, this appears to be such an emotionally charged issue that reporters continued to press him and then he got ticked off… well, as ticked off as you’ll ever see Reid get.

I’m in favor of player celebrations so when Dwayne Bowe used to go off, I liked it. While I can understand fans who hate grandstanding, the kind of passion that Bowe and now Kelce bring to the Chiefs is needed in the biggest way if they ever hope to ascend to championship levels.

Alright Chiefs fans, just how upset are you with Travis Kelce? Are his most recent antics a reason you would not want him on the team anymore? Or would you simply like to see him punished in some way?

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