Josh Kingsley
A few weeks ago I wrote about a horrible sports weekend where all of my teams lost. This one was different. My ultra-busy weekend wound down to Sunday morning, and I got to wake up late and watch Premier League. My team — Tottenham Hotspur — started poorly giving up a goal in the second minute, to Callum Wilson no less, which head me on early morning edge. Things turned quickly and the match was in control and Spurs up by 22′. Then came a great football Sunday, the Chiefs won big, my fantasy teams put up points, and the Chargers got demolished.
Good times!!
Then I got to cap the night in grand fashion with great seats to the musical Hamilton. I absolutely love this musical. It is high energy curtain to curtain, and the songs are absolutely infectious. The last thing I will mention about the show is that I took my 8 year old daughter. She has seen it numerous times on Disney+ and listens to the soundtrack often, but that does not match the live show. Being in the room where it happens with her made the experience perfect. For this week’s column I will be tying some moments from the games with some of my favorite musical numbers. I will be as vague as possible to not include any blatant spoilers, but anyone who has read a history book knows most of the story.
SPOILER ALERT: Be Forewarned: Josh is about to talk all about the musical “Hamilton” so if you haven’t seen it yet, but still intend to, you may want to skip reading this until you do.
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My Shot
This song is the banger of all bangers for me. It is the 3rd number of the entire production and truly sets the tone for the rest of the show. The theme of the song is driving ambition, and acting endlessly opportunistic.
I recall the offseason with this one, and specifically Brett Veach’s focus on utilizing every moment of Patrick Mahomes’ career as an open Super Bowl window. That drive resulted in a major remake of the offensive line, which is the single best way to protect Patrick. This included the aggressive trade with Baltimore for Orlando Brown, bringing in free agent Joe Thuney, and drafting Creed Humphrey and Trey (steal of the draft) Smith. It was impressive to watch the process, and more impressive to see the results. The word on the street is that Veach gave Mahomes assurances the line would be fixed in the offseason.
That made for stories moment happened as they left the field in Tampa after the Super Bowl loss. I view the entire situation as massively positive. The most obvious benefit is better line play and protection for Mahomes. But the equally important benefit is accountability to the best player in the league. My home area of Wisconsin is under constant churn due to the relationship with the Packers star Aaron Rodgers. I am not part of any meetings that happen in Green Bay, but the outward indication is the office does what the office does and loops in Rodgers whenever they get around to it. In Mahomes’ time with the Chiefs he has essentially made a first round pick, and has seen an obvious hole in his O-line filled.
This type of collaboration is how you keep any employee engaged. It is simply necessary these days, and the annual Rodgers v Packers drives the point home. Is the D bad? Yeah it is. Are the player leaders of the team visibly frustrated by it? Hell yeah they are. Will Veach throw away his shot and not correct it as soon as humanly possible? Absolutely not. He is just like Patrick Mahomes: young, scrappy and hungry. This correction is in progress as reports of mutual interest between newly released Edge Whitney Mercilus, who is formerly of the Texans, and the Chiefs surface.
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Satisfied
This may be the best number in the entire production. Angelica Schuyler is who I consider the best singer in both the Chicago and traveling crew that came through Milwaukee, and also on the original cast who you see on Disney+.
Angelica’s part goes to a next level with this lighting fast rap sequence of self reflection. The main jist of the song is how the pursuit of satisfaction is a road to more ambition and questioning. I immediately thought of this song as I was planning this column when Mahomes threw the horrific interception at the end of the first half. As I watched the pocket collapse and said to myself “good going Patrick, you will never be satisfied.” Ambition is a drive and demise in many scenes of Hamilton. I have to admit being a little worried about that ambition being a demise for the game.
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Wait for It
Hamilton is a story about rivalry and approach. Aaron Burr as the patient methodical vs Alexander Hamilton as the brash risk taker. This song is Aaron Burr letting the audience and world know that he is willing to wait for great things.
I have been going a bit Aaron Burr these last few weeks believing the Chiefs are a winning team, and being willing to wait for the wins. My recent columns present plenty of observations that the Chiefs have played some tough teams, and that losses were a result of playing stout competition. It was frustrating to watch losses pile, but I was simply lying in wait.
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Stay Alive
About halfway through the first act is when this number pops up. It serves as the moment that Hamilton and Washington feel the weight of the war for freedom, and also when they recognize the need to explore new options.
I view the season as a war and the goal is to win a Super Bowl, and I believe the Chiefs can win this war. The team came into this game vs, the WFT feeling the weight of a losing record and the first half was rock bottom, but they stayed alive. Something changed in the locker room at halftime in our nation’s capital.
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Non Stop
For readers who have seen Hamilton it should be quite clear that I am referencing the first act more than the second. This is by design, because we Chiefs fans are still in the middle of the first act of the season.
The song is used to recap everything that we learned about all of the characters in the first act, and it effectively sets the stage for the second act. The title is in reference to Hamilton being constantly in motion and driving toward something. This song speaks to me as I am working one of about 6 jobs I have writing this column. I am fresh off the busiest wedding weekend of the year, and getting to the end of the busiest season in my 19 years in the wedding service world. I am truly non stop at the moment.
The team, coaching staff and NFL are also non-stop. No entity in the world has done a better job at being present in everything than the NFL. The 3-3 record is clearly weighing on the Chiefs players, coaches and front office, and it has given way to a sense of anxiety among the fans. It is not hard to find doomsday scenarios on social media. Last week I described doomsday as going 9-8 and being the first team out of the playoffs. It is also easy to find downright frustrated fans wanting answers for why the D wasn’t addressed. This whole thing in non stop.
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The Room Where It Happens
This is the other banger of all bangers. I used this and My Shot as bookends because they are the iconic songs of the musical and fit perfectly for where I think we are with the Chiefs. The song itself is about important, life-changing events, and being part of the decision making process. Hamilton’s angle is being decisive and ambitious gets you in the room, and Burr’s angle is getting left out by waiting too long to make a decision. I think the Chiefs season at present fits for both reasons:
The team decided to quit throwing away shots and clean it up during halftime. We watched the best half of football the Chiefs have played all season this past Sunday, and it was the second half. If the second half mimicked the first there would be no shortage of takes calling for the team and coaching staff to blow up. It would be hard to argue.
The first point is a result of stopping being passive with this season. You get nothing if you wait for it. Spags quit waiting for Dirty Dan to get good at being in constant coverage and put Juan Thornhill in the starting lineup. Mahomes got tired of waiting for the turnovers to stop and stopped them.
But the main reason I ended with this song is that we are in the room where it happens. We are getting ready to watch the Chiefs make a run and I am happy to be a witness.
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Josh Kingsley — ArrowheadOne
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