History is Made Across A Whirlwind of Time

Howdy, howdy y’all. Welcome to another quiet week of CHIEFS football. Just because it was quiet does not mean it lacked impact. I will get into my thoughts on the newest D line acquisition later. I have 2 topics and a preview for this week.

The Preview

Last week was a whirlwind in the historical understanding of my dad’s side of the family. I grew up with a few pieces of knowledge:

• My grandfather started running his family farm at a young age due to his father’s death
• His younger brother, my great uncle and source of my middle name died in World War 2
• My great uncle was a medic on a tank unit, and he died in Europe

About a year ago I learned that the draft actually selected my grandfather, but the farming exemption rendered him ineligible. That knowledge changed and explained many things. Fast forward to a Facebook post about attending a college basketball game, and a misplaced comment from a WW2 history buff in France. I have been going down the rabbit hole since. Details are coming together quickly about my great uncle’s place in the liberation of the Department of Sarthe. It will be an interesting story when complete, everyone around here seems into history, and I cannot wait to share.

And Now, Our NATIONAL CHAMPION KANSAS JAYHAWKS

The connection with the French gentleman started when he posted a comment on my thread for the KU/Miami game. Stories of this KU run and the WW2 preview link in my head. I have written about most of these things, but to set my scene:

• My degrees are from Fort Hays State University in my hometown of Hays, KS
• I grew up a KU fan and always intended to go to college there
• The freshman year at FHSU to knock out some gen eds and establish a major rooted me – I simply made too many friends and enjoyed my time
• I follow all FHSU athletics – some great programs
• My KU fandom has stayed solid for basketball and football (in other completely unrelated news: I don’t get very into college football)
• I fill out a bracket every year, and cannot remember the last time I did not pick Kansas to win (disclosure: sometimes I fill out multiple in work pools and will select other winners – this year it was only 1)

My work with Arrowhead Kingdom stemmed from building a solid Milwaukee Area CHIEFS fan group and watch party. I have also made friends with many of members of the Milwaukee area KU alumni association. Both groups have benefitted from the cross pollination caused by myself and a couple other serial networking types. I love my sports families and they keep my fandom at an all time high.

Quick History Sidebar

Let’s take a step back to the Final 4. We had a field of blue blood winners, and a compelling matchup on the left side of the bracket. The buildup to the Duke/UNC classic included a narrative I hate: the best rivalry in college sports. That statement is 100% false without the caveat that it is because KU and Mizzou are not in the same conference anymore. The other rivalry that pulls out the superlatives is Ohio State/Michigan football. I live in Big 10 country and have worked with countless grads from both schools. Duke and North Carolina contacts exist in my network as well. I have made this next comment to every single one of them.

The greatest rivalry is KU/Mizzou, end of discussion, come back when you have stories about people killing each other, Google “Bleeding Kansas”.

The comment section of my last column got into the Kansas/Missouri history. Quick synopsis includes KS and MO killing each other prior to the start of the Civil War, becoming States, starting Universities, and THEN playing each other in sports. Ohio State and Michigan have played a bunch of football games, and Duke and North Carolina are top notch academic neighbors who are good at basketball. KU/Mizzou is the only answer to best rivalry and it irks me they are in difference conferences.

Tha Big Game

I met the KU alumni association for the National Championship game, and a great local brewery called Raised Grain. The craft beer explosion is one of my favorite parts of being alive right now, and RG is a wonderful addition. They close on Monday, but graciously opened their doors for loyal patrons. And sold a ton of beer. KU was an absolute joy to watch in the tournaments, which includes the Big 12.

The Jayhawks finished their season on an 11 game win streak, and the final 9 were single elimination tournament games. I pick Kansas to win every year, but cannot tell you I totally believe it. March Madness gets it name from the single elimination nature. The format fosters chaos, and the best team does not always win. KU consistently put themselves in the best position with excellent regular season play.

This matters because it equals higher seeds, and higher seeds mean playing closer to home. KU played the first weekend in Fort Worth, and the second in Chicago. Those cities are 8 and 9 hours from Lawrence, respectively. That is a more doable trip than the Austin to Milwaukee trip Texas students and alums had to make. KU tourney games are constantly flush with crimson and blue in the stands. Part of that is a massive, travel-ready alumni base, but the simplicity of the trip undeniably helps. I always fill out a bracket with Kansas winning, and it’s because as a high seed they always have a shot.

Did I believe it this year? Not really. I could picture a world where they win, but had reservations. They were not strong reservations, but they existed. Until the Providence win.

How It Came to Be

This tournament was a chaotic awesomeness of upsets and overachievers. That fun mostly ran out in the Elite 8. St. Peter’s was the darling of the tournament and still standing. The only other high seed left standing was KU’s opponent, Miami.  Miami put up a fight, but couldn’t hang the second half. KU turned into a second half team in the tournament. That fact, the emergence of Remy Martin and the solid nightly effort of David McCormack made the difference for the Jayhawks. I don’t consider UNC an overachiever despite their 8 seed. The see was too low.

It all came together in the Final 4 against Villanova. The Jayhawks led wire to wire, and the game was never really in question. Nova got chippy and cut it to single digits, and then Braun hit the dagger 3 to get back to 12. I was comfortable watching that game, which is not how a National Championship semi-final should go. My expectation was a Duke/KU final. A Coach K swan song in the final was the only possible scenario. North Carolina had other ideas.

The Roller Coaster Leaves the Station

Mondays are a busy day in my world and this one was on brand. The kids’ school book fair is this week, and Misty is the home and school president. We got that off the ground. Monday is meeting day at work, so I worked Microsoft Teams (great program BTW). It was also the start of my sand volleyball league, so I knocked some rust off of that. This all happened before I left for Raised Grain.

The Raised Grain arrival was all business in 3 steps: A. grab a beer, 2. say my hi’s, and D. grabbed the most perfect available table with the best view of the TV. (Credit to everyone who caught the gratuitous Home Alone reference.) First round was Mello Rillo Session Hazy IPA. The beer was good and KU jumped to an early 7-0 lead. Life and everything was moving in the correct direction. The room was happy, but tense due to how early it was in the game. That lead evaporated and became the 11-12 deficit at 13:30 when Bacot made his free throw for the and 1. We had a game.

Every Coaster Has It’s Dips

A 7-0 lead ended up being the first major climb, and the result was a massive downward spiral. The end of that spiral was a 15 point halftime downer, which served as only a slight improvement to the 16 point spread at 2:23. Not the ideal way to end the first half of a title game. I spent the entire game standing next to KU grad and CHIEFScast recording partner, Chris Thomas. Our commentary in the closing minutes of the first half: cut it to single digits, regroup and have a chance. Room was quiet, and we all processed the first half.

I made the move to Paradocs Imperial Red IPA. Why that one? The label is red and blue. I did not notice the imperial part, and only had one. Strong beer is good in certain setting, but a title game is not one of them. I finished my reflection time, finished the Paradocs, and felt strangely at ease. Part of the reflection was picturing every UNC fan and KU hater I know, and getting edgy. The other part was simply asking why couldn’t this script flip in the second half, and feeling like it was possible. I looked at Chris, and said “Eff North Carolina, Eff the ACC, KU’s winning this game.”

Back Up the Hill

I didn’t take the time to look up the biggest championship deficit, and I don’t even remember if they were talking about it on TV. New beer selection: Take’er Easy Suburban Pale Ale. Rolled with it the rest of the night. The label is red with a touch of yellow. I don’t consider myself superstitious, but I focus on color. My logic here was red setting apart as both team use blue, and taking it easy in The Big Easy was key. It just made sense to me and felt right. That had to be the KU approach. Panic and desperation rarely solve anything. My analogy for bad business situations, big gaps in a game, etc. is drowning. Picture someone drowning. They don’t want to drown, they want to live. The human intuition is to struggle, and it is wrong.

Fighting for air and surface requires effort, and that burns energy. Fatigue leads to bad decisions and complacency. The correct approach is to calm, think, float and live to the next decision. Stay alive long enough and you find shore. KU had to come out of the locker room motivated and precise. McCormack’s dunk off a turnover was the perfect indication. The next decision in the analogy was single digits, which makes it a game again. Jaylon Wilson made a layup at 15:40 and that step was complete. Precise execution and calculated defensive risks are the equivalent of methodical breathing floating, and they got Kansas back into the game. The game was down to a 1 point differential by the 11:36 official TV timeout. KU was no longer drowning, and this was a proper final.

Rollercoasters Are Fun

The game was fun from that point. Two blue bloods duking (pun intended, they were NOT there) it out for the top prize. Punches and inches taken and thrown, and the entire group glued to the TV. It was March Madness at it’s finest and we were loving it. Would the experience be worth it if KU lost? That is a hell of a question and my inclination is yes. Fortunately, that gets to live in the theoretical. McCormack scored the winning bucket at 1:21 to put KU up 70-69. It was the D’s turn next.

Pulling Back Into the Station

North Carolina patiently took the ball down the  court, and worked the clock. The second attempt ended in a Bacot turnover according to the box score and play-by-play. History, and there are plenty of video clips so it is history, adds a layer. The Bacot turnover was him rolling his already tender ankle while driving the lane for what was sure to be the lead. Remy Martin grabbed the ball with an opportunity to start the break, but planted his foot and kept the dribble. The camera panned to Bill Self pointing at Bacot. KU walked down the floor, and Bacot hopped over like a warrior. The refs blew the whistle and let UNC sub. That was the best play of the night.

McCormack scored again to set the 3 point lead. A final defensive stand took the ball back with :04 on the clock. HOWEVER, Harris gave North Carolina another shot by stepping out of bounds in most egregious fashion. A final final defensive stand made the Kansas Jayhawks the 2022 National Champions. It was a perfect night.

That CHIEFS Move

The CHIEFS made one move this past week, and it was the signing of former Colt and 4 year vet, Taylor Stallworth. Matt McMullen covers it well on the CHIEFS site, but 3 numbers jumped out at me:

• 16 games, and only 1 start
• 12 QB hits
• 3 sacks

Those numbers essentially match Mike Dana, who played all 17 and started 6. The details of the contract do not appear anywhere online as of this writing, but it’s a 1 year deal and there is a picture of him signing in McMullen’s tweet. It is a done deal. Again, not sure what he is making, but his last contract with the Colts was 2 years, $1.67M. He was an RFA, but the Colts did not offer. I believe that was a bad move on their part, and good opportunity for the CHIEFS. Brett Veach quietly signed good value, established production to the needed enhancement of the D line.

I am excited to have Taylor on the team, and look forward to him challenging for a spot next to Chris Jones. That will lead to a bigger payday for him a year from now. I am rooting for him to get it.

Work That D Line

I will mention a few more things about the 3 numbers mentioned above. Frank Clark (4.5) and Chris Jones (9) are the only D linemen from our roster with more. This is not surprising given the amount of fear our QB pressure instilled in 2021 opponents, which was none. That QB hit number beat everyone but Clark and Jones, and equals Jarran Reed. I do not say this to dump on our players. Mainly because it is not necessary due to the amount of coverage it has already received. I believe the CHIEFS were as little as 1 sack from making a 3rd straight Super Bowl. Joe Burrow eluding Chris Jones’ grip in the 2nd half of the AFC Championship game haunts me with what-ifs. Another lineman creating pressure on that play could have been the difference.

My main point is this type of signing has the potential to contribute to the inches Al Pacino talks about in Any Given Sunday. The other thing on the table is buying extremely low. Last season was a career year Stallworth. It is not difficult to picture him crushing camp, swiping the starting spot next to Jones, and blowing up. Veach will be drafting edge rushers, and our D line will have the opportunity to massively improve. This deal becomes incredible if that happens.

Bonus Story: Tommy & Gina

Bon Jovi played Fiserv Forum on Tuesday night, and Misty snagged some complimentary tickets. I avoid reading reviews from recent shows before concerts, and this show was a big reason why. The Omaha and St. Paul write ups from the two shows prior spoke of strained vocals and high energy. Both came to the same conclusion as me: the show was awesome and worth going. Misty and I spoke at length when we got home about how Jon’s signature voice was MIA. She expressed a level of disappointment, but also relief we did not drop big money on the tickets. My disappointment was different. I was a member of the concert choir for a couple years at Fort Hays, and I took a couple semesters of one on one vocal instruction. I cannot name many classes where I learned more.

My instructor made one point loud and clear: rock voices are not sustainable. Voices should not live in the limits of range, and can does not equal should. My disappointment is that Jon did it for rock and he will never get the adequate credit. He is in the Rock Hall and still selling out arenas, but that man is a vocal gladiator.  What did I do Tuesday night? I shared the room with rock royalty. Second to last takeaway: Bad Medicine is a banger and ends the show perfectly. Last takeaway: I need a time machine, preferably of the Delorean with 1.21 gigawatts style, to go back and see Keep the Faith live in the 90s.

Josh Kingsley – ArrowheadOne