Josh Kingsley
This was a long weekend. Thursday night kicked off the festivities with a holiday party photo booth, Friday added a holiday party DJ gig, Saturday was a fun wedding in Chicago, and Sunday was for the sports. I spent Sunday catching up with friends and watching games. The day started with an excellent World Cup Final, transitioned to the CHIEFS game, and continued with keeping track of the later games. On top of all this Arrowhead Kingdom had a big representation in Houston, so promo for that happened too. It should be abundantly clear by now that I prefer to be busy over idle. Boxed check this week similar to most others. That slate alone was interesting enough, but this week added an extra piece of civic obligation. Yep, I’m talking jury duty.
Lot’s to unpack on the weekly trip to no where. May as well get to it.
CHIEFS Kingdom Takes Over Houston
The Houston game tabbed as takeover weekend this year. CHIEFS fans from all over descended upon America’s 4th largest city. This was the who’s who of fan groups and travel teams. Our local Arrowhead Kingdom crew came proper as expected. Stacey and Clint run the Houston fan group and they certainly know how to throw a party. Their weekend kicked off with the traditional Red Friday at their home watch location, Little Woodrow’s in Midtown. On game days and nights like last Friday they call it Little Arrowhead. Check out the pictures and you totally see why. Sunday featured a proper first in the lot tailgate and breakfast tacos. Finally, they hit the stadium and cheered our CHIEFS to victory!!
I wish I made this one. It looks like one heck of a party.
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Adventures in Jury Duty
Jury duty is one of life’s rare situations where you get two four letter words at the same time. Nobody wants to do, but we have to. Everyone has their tips and tricks to get out of it, but we all end up eventually serving. This was time #2 for me. The last one was 8 years ago during the, drum roll, World Cup knockouts. Last edition I almost missed the USA v Belgium knockout, but I arrived in time to see Wondo miss the broad side of a barn in route to a US loss. This time I watched the semi-finals on my phone in a jury room while we were waiting for things to progress. Both times the experience went something like this:
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• Show up to the courthouse at 8:00 AM
• Sit and wait for the room to pack up
• Hear about the 4K+ case backlog (this is for this time and thanks Covid!!)
• Listen as the announcer calls people to stand on a number in the hall
• Hear my name in the 3rd group
• Head to a court room for jury selection
• Hear a couple words from the DA followed by the defender vaguely outlining the key issues
• Watch as people explain personal feelings and values that may not fit
• Walk into the hall while the lawyers lawyer with the judge
• Re-enter the court room to hear the 14 selected
• End up on the panel (both times)
• Work and personal calendars cleared
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At that point we all headed back into the court room to kick off the process and learn the rules. The main rules revolved around being impartial and quiet for the duration. Both easy asks really. However, now that the case is over I can share.
The Case
This one was a case study in stupidity, a showcase of top flight detective work, and an unfortunate narrative on my greater community. I’ll start with the dumb. Our scene starts in a not great area of Greater Milwaukee on a week night/morning. Specifically at 2:00 AM when nothing good happens. Three guys walk into a “restaurant” to get food. They don’t make it to a table, but they do get into a verbal altercation with an older guy toward the back of the dining area. Things escalate resulting in the 3 escorted out. The scene follows with most of the table of 8-12 other guys seated by the door following the 3 outside to the sidewalk. Surveillance cameras catch the next part.
Another verbal altercation takes place and the group of 3 get in the car and leave in their ’99 Tahoe. The Tahoe leaves it’s parking spot, drives away, and receives gun fire from the group by the door. Our Tahoe then makes a u-turn, drives back by the original spot and shoots twice. One of the bullets hits a 17 year old kid walking to the “restaurant” in the calf. Kid stumbles and scene over.
Testimonies
My fellow jurors and I spent 2 days hearing testimony for the prosecution, which included the building owner who handed the camera footage to the police, the victim receiving the bullet, the police aide who was present that night, both detectives working the case, the officers who arrested the defendant, and the officers and towing company that worked a fender bender of said Tahoe a couple months before the incident. The whole thing painted a long, thorough picture of the wrecked Tahoe and it’s driver. The detectives were the most interesting as they described the GPS tracking software that targets gunfire, plate tracker cameras and case assembly with almost no witness accounts. Truly fascinating technology coupled with impressive dedication to justice. Everything else painted a seemingly drawn out reiteration of the vehicle and defendant.
Meet the Characters
Now for the layers in this cake. The defendant was the Tahoe driver, a convicted felon (marijuana possession with intent to traffic in the amount .5-2+ pounds), and charged with responsibility for the shot and possession of a firearm by a felon. Our police aide is a Milwaukee Police officer who was 19 at the time of the incident, was at this place after 2 other bars and a strip club, and was part of the group by the door that ultimately shot up the Tahoe as it drove off. The police aide, now officer, was also the ONLY EYEWITNESS FROM THE NIGHT. Let’s review the scoreboard:
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• (1) convicted felon defendant
• (1) police aide getting food after a night of underage drinking with armed company
• (1) 17 year old out at 2am on a week night
• (1) busy establishment with 50-60 total people (my estimation)
• (1) witness
• (1) long winded DA
• (1) public defender
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The second most frustrating testimony was the aide now officer. He could not remember if he consumed alcohol until reminded that he told the detective he “may have had a shot” at some point at one of the bars. Who was he with? No clue as he could not remember his company’s names. He saw the defendant in the restaurant, but nothing on the street as he remained inside. This was largely OK because the video showed the defendant’s face, which matched the mug shot, getting into the Tahoe and driving away then back. The DA painstakingly identified and reidentified the defendant and Tahoe.
Supreme Frustration
This set in when the defendant took the stand and said he was at home that night. I suddenly understood the DA, the extensive ID process, and why we heard what we heard. None of the requests for alibi were possible. No other witnesses. Who were the passengers? No clue, can’t remember. The Tahoe tied to him 10 ways from Tuesday. He wasn’t driving it. Someone stole that the day after the fender bender. Oh yeah, that party also stole another vehicle from the defendant over the summer and put the plate from that car on the Tahoe. All of this said in court with a straight face.
The detectives did an excellent job piecing together a jumbled mess and bringing justice to an innocent bystander. That is the extent of the positives in my mind. Police officer is a tough job. I have no interest in doing it. However, we as a society need that service. I appreciate it greatly, but also find it quite sad that someone with the judgement of our police aide can find his way to a badge. It sucks the pool of interested and capable parties is that shallow. The real bummer was the overall lack of witnesses in a shooting of a teenager in front of a local spot. This neighborhood in question is not a destination at 2:00 AM, so it was all locals. The police have a tough job.
World Cup – That’s a Wrap
Let’s start with the sport. That was one of the most entertainingly incredibly awesome matches I have ever seen. Possibly the best. Many pundits and fans alike agree. The setup was a movie script: the often appointed GOAT (Lionel Messi) enters his final World Cup with Argentina, group play starts with a loss to Saudi Arabia and the here we go again’s, but ultimately the team makes the final. On the other side you have Messi’s most likely successor, Kylian Mbappé, and the defending World Cup Champions, France. Argentina boasts a stout squad. France boasts a loaded squad. The match saw every possible momentum change, went to extra time, and ended in penalties. We all got our money’s worth. Leonel Messi won the last trophy that eluded him. Argentina got it’s 3rd Cup making it the 4th most successful nation behind Brazil with 5 and Italy/Germany with 4.
The tournament carried it’s share of negatives. For starters the stadiums constructed on the backs of migrant workers under harsh conditions. At best the arrangement was indentured servitude, but many accounts paint a much worse light. The Qatar government admitted some deaths occurred during construction, but independent accounts say the count is as high as 15K. In reality we don’t and probably never will know how bad it was. We as humanity owe it to history to remember and make sure this remains documented. Qatar, to its minimal credit, does not appear to deny existence, but to it’s detriment avoids scope. A truly sad situation. The other issues revolve around the historical rights of women and LGBTQ+ people. These issues are not unique to the World Cup, but bear notation. Finally, I have to mention Grant Wahl from Mission, KS. US soccer and journalist lost a giant.
More About Qatar
The 2022 Qatar World Cup leaves a success with many warts. All the above human rights violations will and should follow this competition and Qatar forever. FIFA’s reputation is greed, corruption and money under the table. This World Cup simply solidifies that once again. Partnering in Russia (2018) and pushing South Africa (2010) and Brazil (2014) to spend money they don’t have on infrastructure they don’t need was corrupt. I have no doubt that bribes made them look the other way and disregard how irresponsible it was to build things for a mere month of world exposure. This situation in Qatar was FIFA’s logical next step.
Qatar and the surrounding area is in an interesting spot after this World Cup. The above remains well documented, but so do other things. First, they pulled off the event quite well. All the above aside they tournament went off without a many hitches. Qatar spent an estimated $200-300B on infrastructure and stadiums. The big difference in this spend as opposed to the last 3 host sites is that Qatar had the money to spend. I do not expect to read a single story about stadiums falling into unused ruin like the one Brazil built in the Amazon. Qatar had a plan all along. The plan includes modernizing their country to become a cultural and business hub of the world. A World Cup fit directly in already laid plans.
A Case for Progress
Qatar made it clear they plan to grow their infrastructure and business footprint. The first step was proving to the world they can do it, which I believe they did. Next step is proving their place and influence should grow, and they have work to do. The first thing that needs to happen is a level of contrition for the black cloud surrounding this tournament. Countries don’t apologize for things like this, so don’t hold breath for an apology to the migrant workers. What we can and should expect is a higher level of transparency and accountability. I consider it required for any of their plans to materialize. This starts with cooperation with the UN and others to arrive at an accurate death count. It ends with policy and commitment to prevent it in the future.
I track markets, business trends and news for a living. Everyone, and I mean everyone is pulling out of Russia. I also work for big companies, and the thought process is quite progressive. This brings me to step two, which is improvement with regard to LGBTQ+, women and minority treatment. Every single public company and most private have an eye toward the future, and that future is a truly equitable workplace. Most companies have employee action groups designed to push for complete equality and they have C suite sponsorship. Qatar needs the participation of the largest companies in the world to succeed. They will not get the needed buy in without including the largest American and European companies, and that does not come without social improvement. The ability to have beers in the hotel lobby after a conference wouldn’t hurt either.
I’m not sure they can get there or if they deserve to. Time will tell.
CHIEFS Game Review
After the World Cup Final I headed to my B Dubs for the CHIEFS game. We had another great crowd, and cannot recall laughing more during a game. The game was funny in it’s own right, but most of the laughter ended up loosely or unrelated. I am not joking when I tell you the conversations were random and sometime plain weird. For starters I learned a long time friend, Chris who I record CHIEFScast with, is a doctor (has a PhD). He does not flaunt it, but I’ve known him long enough I’m shockingly just now learning. Chris and I sat at a table with AJ, a long time MKE CHIEFS member, and Travis, a former coworker and Packer fan who joined me for the Cup final and continued with the CHIEFS game. A particular conversation led me to my angle for this week.
We somehow ended up on the topic of movies about work. The next step was tying part of the movie to a topic for the game. A ton of titles kicked around, but here is my list of excellent work movies:
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• Office Space
• Up In the Air
• Thank You for Smoking
• Tommy Boy
• Glengarry Glen Ross
• BONUS: American Beauty
• BONUS: Shooter
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American Beauty is a bonus because I find it somewhat of a stretch to call it a work movie. However, I recall reading about how Sam Mendes directed it, Road to Perdition and Jarhead as movies about men and their relationships with their jobs. Shooter is a bigger stretch, but I pulled a specific quote and included it. Here we go!!
Up In the Air
Let’s deal with the overall scene and elephant in the room first. Carl Cheffers and his crew officiated the game and it just felt lopsided. The Texans had 3 scoring drives extended by penalties called on 3rd down. Officials flagged Kansas City 10 times for 102 yards to Houston’s 4 for 33. How does the movie tie? Up In the Air is one of my favorite movies and the interactions between George Clooney as Ryan Bingham and Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener is a big reason why. A favorite scene includes Keener questioning Bingham about love and he starts this exchange:
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“Ryan Bingham: You know that moment when you look into somebody’s eyes and you can feel them staring into your soul and the whole world goes quiet… just for a second?
Natalie Keener: Yes!
Ryan Bingham: Right, well, I don’t.”
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I picture Carl Cheffers sitting at a similar table with another NFL crew chief ref. His colleague asks him about the feeling of calling a clean game, seeing the best team win, and going home…
Shooter
We’re going bonus time. I thought of Shooter right after the MVS touchdown catch, which was a thing of beauty. Mahomes threw an absolute rocket at the sideline and MVS hauled in in magnificently. (Spoiler alert) There is a scene where Michael Pena as Nick Memphis is questioning if Mark Wahlberg as Bob Lee Swagger is the shooter in an assassination attempt of the president. The shot assumed for the president hit another individual standing next to him a couple feet away. Memphis ascertained the correct target caught the bullet, but from another shooter. He based it on a shooting competition record from Swagger:
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“I read an article. It said Swagger shot a silver dollar at a grand. Five shots, at 1,000 yards, an inch-and-a-half spread. An inch and a half! … Now, how does a man who can do that miss by two-and-a-half feet at 2,000 yards? I don’t get it.” – Nick Memphis
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My question: how does a WR that makes Sunday’s catch drop balls that hit him in the hands. I don’t get it.
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Thank You for Smoking
Another favorite movie of mine. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor, a spokesman for big tobacco who essentially spins why cigarettes are not that bad. There is a scene where Naylor is talking about the challenge of the job, and drops this line:
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“I like a challenge. If you want an easy job, go work for the Red Cross.” – Nick Naylor
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This one goes out to Spags. He has a tough job, no question. The offense got a ton of love and has golden boy Mahomes at the helm. He remains stuck with a toothless pass rush and a bunch of rookies in the backfield. Spags also works for a great team in the NFL. He needs to do his job better.
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Office Space
Let’s pick on special teams. Butker is in my doghouse, and I am the latest of late adopters here. There is simple math for dropped kicking points, but I refuse to do it. Fine, it’s 18, or twice the CHIEFS total losing margin on the season. I was all set to build a metric set and research college kickers this week, and then the Colquitt tweet happened.
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Whoa, was my reaction. It never crossed my mind to consider the kicking game is equal parts snap, hold and kick when exploring my personal frustration with the upright misses. Office Space is another personal favorite, and I love the character of Michael Bolton and his affinity for hip hop music while carrying the least hip hop name.
The movie starts with a payday exchange, his frustration for the constant references to an artist he despises, and a suggestion he go by Mike or something else:
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“No way! Why should I change? He’s the one who sucks.” – Michael Bolton
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In fairness to Butker what should he change if this is even partially true? Kicking is a rhythm game, you plant your foot here and kick from here. That second here needs to be stable. Townsend justifiably replied that the team keeps things in house. The problem is no reply was the better path. This team spends too much time in the social media weeds. I ultimately give Tommy a pass because it was Colquitt. Dustin needed to bring this in house. Hopefully this tweet is not the result of him trying to privately help.
Tommy Boy
Toub is not off any hooks, and he is Farley and Tommy in this scene. The sales is in the bombing stage in the movie when the duo of Tommy and David Spade as Richard stop for gas and directions. Tommy fills gas after these parting words:
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“I’m gonna go ask directions to our next huge, embarrassing failure.” ― Richard Hayden
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Special teams is the clear weakest link for the CHIEFS, and that is saying something given the defensive performance. The missed kicks are the flagship failure, but Skyy Moore’s punt catching was equally detrimental. Kickoff returns and punt coverage are sketchy at best, and we don’t even talk about those in any depth. Toub once profiled as a head coach. It seems like a lifetime ago in the middle of this season. To answer the question: take the 70 until you hit the Truman Sports Complex, coach. The game’s on Saturday this week too. Also, please dial it in this week and don’t ruin Christmas.
Glengarry Glen Ross
Enough with the negative stuff. The best scene in the movie is when Alec Baldwin’s Blake comes to the office to…um…motivate the crew. The most iconic line of the movie and much of the 90s:
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“Coffee is for closers.” – Blake
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This one is for Jerick calling his shot McKinnon for the 26 yard game winning run in OT. Pour yourself a big ol cup o joe, sir.
American Beauty
The director focused on the work portion and it plays a part for sure. American Beauty is really more about a midlife crisis while losing touch with big parts of one’s identity and most relationships. Kevin Spacey and Annette Benning play an aggravated married couple going off separate deep ends. My absolute favorite scene is when Spacey as Lester buys a sports car and Benning as Carolyn sees it in the driveway:
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“Carolyn Burnham: Uh, whose car is that out front?
Lester Burnham: Mine. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. The car I’ve always wanted and now I have it. I rule!”
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The CHIEFS have the 2nd best record in the league, but 5th best point differential. The D gives up too many yard and gets way too few sacks. The kicker is becoming a liability. The CHIEFS constantly play down to the competition. What’s that in the trophy case? That’s a 7th consecutive AFC West title tying the ’73-’79 Rams for second longest streak ever and equaling the all-time AFC West title count with the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos at 15. It’s the title we all wanted and now we have it. CHIEFS rule!!
Final CHIEFS Take for the Week
I don’t like the playing down, lack of D and ST issues. There are concerns about the playoff readiness of this team, which I understand. The NFL playoff system remains best navigated by teams that protect the ball, build and execute great game plans, and make life uncomfortable for their opponents. We as fans can and will argue to the death about if we can picture the current CHIEFS in this light. The easy answer after the Texans game is that it’s difficult to see.
The truth is that I have absolutely no idea how this will shake out and neither does anyone else. I plan to buckle up, enjoy the wins and root for this flawed team to keep winning. There really is no reason for the winning to stop.
Media of the Week
Okay, so, seven movies didn’t cut it? I have another one. Nick from the MKE CHIEFS fans strikes again. He suggested the hilarious Pitch Meeting video I mentioned last week. This week’s watch party brought a new suggestion from the Babylon Bee. I am a huge fan of The Onion and the Babylon Bee, which are both satire sites. The Bee has a new 5 part series where a young couple moves from California to Texas. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and it’s laugh out loud funny. Check it out.
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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Boxing Day, and Happy anything else you celebrate. GO CHIEFS!!
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne and Arrowhead Kingdom
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