So does winning in pro sports really matter in the big picture of life?
The answer is a resounding NO! Sure it’s a nice ego boost for some fans. But let me ask you this: Did winning four Super Bowls with Terry Bradshaw make people want to go visit Pittsburgh? Did the Baltimore Orioles get hoards of folks running to their fair city because of their world series wins?
Who’s gonna come visit or move to KC if we ever win anything – not that we will? What’s more, it’s not gonna change anybody’s life in any meaningful way.
So while fans love to wear their tacky shirts and the hats of their favorite team and some will venture several hundred miles to see a game now and then, it really no longer changes the overall image of a city.
I mean if Cleveland won the Super Bowl, Christ, who would actually want to go there for even a brief visit?
The Kansas City Royals for a few years drew a fan base from Omaha in the late 70’s early-mid 80’s. It mattered back then, but let’s face it, they were coming here from Omaha. Stanford & Sons would see those families rubbernecking in our restaurant hoping to catch a glimpse of George Brett.
Then in the 90’s Stanford’s became the home of the Kansas City Chiefs. Yes we had tons of local fans show up to meet Derrick Thomas or Neil Smith in our bar or restaurant. But as time marched on, even when the teams did well, the numbers fell off. Today the Chiefs have no real, consistent hangout. And nobody knows or cares about the Royals. Few people travel to KC to watch the Chiefs anymore, notice the thousands of empty seats at Arrowhead. To be honest the Royals still have some out of towners who just love baseball, but it’s a far cry from the numbers of 20 years ago.
So while we Chiefs fans are sad about losing yet another play-off game at Arrowhead, in the big picture it doesn’t matter much to the rest of the country. We bitch cause nobody talks about our teams on ESPN or national news much.
Big cities are just that, big, but look at Los Angeles. Did not having an NFL team hurt that market? Nope. The Lakers are still THE TEAM in the NBA. And much of that is due to the "see and be seen" experience at a Lakers game. Some fans still think it’s as cool to look at Justin Timberlake as they do Kobe Bryant.
It’s true though that when one travels around KC, the one thing you can walk up and talk to anyone about is, "Hey what do you think of the Chiefs?" Then the conversation gets rolling. Still doesn’t make people want to visit our city. Why would it?
The only American city that having a GLORY sports team seems to matter would have to be New York.
And maybe Dallas with the Cowboys.
The Yankees were just so awesome and promoted world wide – like Manchester United in soccer. Ruth, Mantle, Maris, Jeter, on and on. It did seem to bring some admiration and hate to New York. But New York is, well, New York. They don’t need much more to be a draw.
As for the Cowboys, maybe it was the cheerleaders. After all, didn’t that lead to HOOTERS?
Dear Diary…
Sounds like an existential breakdown if I’ve ever heard one.
You Cannot Be More Wrong
Graig… I love all of your work but you are wrong. Winning championships matters.
Now do I want to rush down to New Orleans and watch the Saints play? No. I only care to watch The Chiefs But… I am going to NOLA this year… I wanna check it out. Did the SB win influence me…. sure it did.
If the Colts had won no Super Bowls… they would still be playing in the RCA Dome… Not Lucas Oil Field.
I do business with people all over the country and our major league status makes KC much more relevant. Sorry… It does.
Who the hell are Justin Timbalake & Coby Bryant?
Any relation to Justin Timberlake and Kobe Bryant? Fuckstick.
If the Browns win the Super Bowl….
I’d be off to Cleveland the next day, just to meet Jesus.
Glazer: The Chiefs Lost, So Effing What?
Kerouac: kcindy beat tomato cans, so effing What?
Kerowhackoff, I hauled your ass to the woodshed so many
times this year there is a rut as opposed to a path.
One more time, your STDiego Chokers were done after the 15th game, and the Chiefs went to the playoffs.
The Chargers C H O K E D!! After you and every sports radio guyin the world wrote them off after the 12th game, the STDiego C H O K E R S CHOKED!!!!
They choked against CINCINATTI!!!!
They choked against Cincinattie WITHOUT Terell Owens and Ocho.
They choked against dramatically inferior competition with the season on the line.
Rivers and V. Jackson CHOKED and lost a game with superior talent.
The Chiefs were, at best, in the beginning of the season, supposed to go 7 and 9 with some breaks on a wing and a prayer.
The Chiefs out preformed expectations and made a great deal of progress.
The STDiego C H O K E RS choked. They ALWAYS CHOKE.
LETS HEAR ABOUT YOUR TEAM KEROWHACKOFF.
Do you think they will choke more or less next year without that choker Vincent Jackson.
Do you think that LT, a WORLD FAMOUS choker, will call and want his job back nexte year with his choker friends?
Do you think the STDeigo CHOKERS would have lost by more points in Cincinatti and choked even more if TO and OCO played?
Do you think that Norv Turner chokes when he eats JELLO?
Do you think that the San Diego Chicken is a poor choice of mascot, considering how often STDiego chokes, you know, chicken bones and all that?
Do you think the STDIego choker players choked on thier chinstraps of was in their jock straps in Cincinatti?
Do you think that AJ Smith went and saw that movie called “Choker”?
Do you think the team should be re named the “Heimlich Maneuvers” because they C H O K E so much?
Do you think the STDiego CHOKERS choked on the soup out of the TOMATO cans they played ?
Do you think the STDiego CHOKERS should be renamed the “Auto Erotic CHOKERS” because they may as well be jacking off as trying to play football?
Lose that stupid fuckin “NEE” word and try writing something some one can read and make sense of.
Chuckdouche…..
A Chiefs fan calling anyone else’s team “chokers” is not only hilarious, but smacks of the worst type of hypocrisy. Didn’t the Chiefs set the record for most consecutive playoff losses in NFL history??? Just an observation, as I don’t have a dog in this fight.
Guy who should spend time doing more thinking, less talking
The point is, gargoyle, the Chiefs were not expected to win. The STDiego chokers were, therfore—choke.
I am sure every team in the NFL has lost a game they were supposed to win in years past. The Patriots choked in 86. Andre Tippet was pretty good if I remember…
The Chiefs shoulda beat the Dolphins in 1971, those guys are mostly dead now.
He’s
a big dumb animal, ain’t he folks?
: )