We’re almost through that boring first week in the break between the Conference Championship Games and the Super Bowl. It’s during this time that you know a Super Bowl is coming up very shortly, but chances are the thought of it has gone to the back of your brain before things really kick up next week.
Which means you might not have spent much time thinking about one crazy thing about this game – the Kansas City Chiefs haven’t played in a Super Bowl since SUPER BOWL 4. That, if my math is correct, is 50 Super Bowls ago.
I just don’t know how something like that happens but I do know this – without a dog in this year’s fight it’s easy to root for the Chiefs to finish this job.
Because name a more deserving fanbase than Kansas City’s? It’s pretty hard, right>
Over the years this group of people has jammed into Arrowhead Stadium and made it one of the loudest places to play in all of the NFL. From smokey tailgates to deafening cheers, these fans bring it every Sunday. And all of this has happened without a trip to the Super Bowl since 19-freaking-70.
Chiefs fans have rooted hard for guys like Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, Joe Montana, Priest Holmes, Tony Gonzalez, Jamaal Charles, Marcus Allen, Christian Okoye, Barry Word, Dante Hall, and never made a Super Bowl with any of them. Which is nuts.
San Francisco, meanwhile, has won five Super Bowls since 1982 and last appeared in one in 2012, which they had a chance to win in the final minutes.
They’ve been there and done that. Sure, the 49ers have bounced back from some dark days, but Super Bowl success isn’t very foreign to them.
It definitely is for Kansas City.
Just think about how spoiled Patriots fans are – they’ve gone to 9 Super Bowls since 2001 and had gone to three straight before being knocked out of the playoffs a few weeks ago.
Not one player on this Chiefs team, meanwhile, was alive the last time this franchise played on Super Sunday.
If you’ve ever been to Kansas City you know how kind the people there are and how darn great the BBQ is. Seriously, I was there for a few days a couple years ago and somehow left without getting gout, because I had BBQ for three straight meals and would have gladly deserved it.
These people have stuck with their team for years and now that’s all being rewarded as they try not to stress out too much before the game finally kicks off a week from Sunday. The mix of joy and tension during these days is a wild one, and likely has all Chiefs fans feeling things in their stomachs.
But now they have a savior in Patrick Mahomes, who seems poised to make going Super Bowls a regular thing. He’s a ridiculous quarterback with ridiculous skills who could be the perfect leader to end this drought for Chiefs fans.
If you don’t have a team in this one, join me on the Chiefs’ bandwagon. And bring some BBQ.
Wednesday’s biggest winner: This story about Tom Brady.
My pal and colleague, Henry McKenna, covers the New England Patriots for a living and he came up with a pretty brilliant and creative longread about what it has been like over the years for all the players who have had a locker next to Tom Brady in the team’s locker room. There are some pretty incredible stories and insights from the likes of Drew Bledsoe, Matt Cassell, and many others. If you like football give this story a read. It’s really enjoyable.
Quick hits: Tiger’s mesmerizing video… Fans rip ESPN’s Mark Jackson… Danica’s funny reply… And more!
– This video of the sound it makes when Tiger Woods hits a golf ball is mesmerizing. You’re gonna end up watching it on a loop. I have.
– Zion Williamson made his debut Wednesday night and it didn’t take long for ESPN’s Mark Jackson to say dumb things that annoyed fans.
– Danica Patrick had a funny reply to 49ers fans who tried to console her at halftime of the NFC Championship Game.
– WNBA great Maya Moore is skipping another season to do something much more important, which in incredible.
– Draymond Green clapped back at Charles Barkley.
– Mr. Peanut is going to die… in a Super Bowl ad.