Rich Gannon
Think of it as the one that got away…
The Super Bowl that the Kansas City Chiefs should have played in and would have won if they had.
610 Sports personalities Danny Parkins and Carrington Harrison spent this past week on radio row in Arizona. The guys had lots interviews with former players, coaches and even my pal, funny guy Frank Caliendo. But without a doubt he most noteworthy interview of all was former Chiefs quarterback Rich Gannon.
The Chiefs made one of the all time worst decisions in not starting Gannon in the playoff game following the 1997 season. That was the season the Chiefs went 13-3 with coach Marty Schottenheimer.
Rich was asked about his career in KC and he was kind.
“I love the city, the food and the fans, but not letting me start against Denver hurt and hurt badly,” Gannon said.
Gannon had just beaten Denver, Seattle, San Francisco (44-9), Oakland (30-0) and the Chargers (29-7).
It was as dominant a run as our modern Chiefs ever had completed.
Rich was maybe playing the best quarterback role in the NFL period.
But the geniuses in the front office – Marty and probably Carl Peterson – decided to bench Gannon in favor of our new starter who had been out injured for nearly two months. Perhaps you remember him, his name was Elvis Grbac. It’s a name we’d all just as soon forget.
The Chiefs would lose the playoff game at Arrowhead 14-10.
As Gannon explained, the coaches and players went to Marty begging for Rich to start that game. It was Gannon’s fourth season in KC and he was by far our best quarterback. Maybe the best ever – or least since Len Dawson.
Gannon made no bones about it, he would have won that game.
Elvis was rusty at best, and as Rich said, “ran out of gas sometime in the third quarter.”
Grbac was not in football shape and nowhere near as good as Gannon to begin with. Gannon proved that.
“Our money and future is in Elvis Grbac” said Peterson before the loss.
I was close with the team and players when all this went down.
All of them wanted Gannon to start. The bad call by Marty and Carl cost the Chiefs a Super Bowl and like I said, probably a Super Bowl victory. This was the best overall team KC had fielded since Dawson.
The poor selection of QB for that huge game ended the Chiefs run as a top tier NFL team.
Rich Gannon went to Oakland, was an NFL MVP four time Pro Bowler and played in Super Bowl XXXVII (although he got wiped out). He would have fared better with the Chiefs.
Grbac was dumped in 2004 and never was very good again because of injuries – if he ever was really that good. The Chiefs have been an also ran ever since. Marty left a year later and the rest is history.
Nearly 20 years have now passed and our team hasn’t smelled a championship since.
Elvis threw a perfect spiral, it looked good, like the NFL’s balance sheet.
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Sweet baby Jesus, this is a brilliant, scathing indictment of the NFL.
It’s Super Bowl Sunday and a perfect time to read it for a different view of the big day.
I felt like Mike Tyson punched me in the ribs after I read it. Wow…
http://www.mrdestructo.com/2015/01/everything-stupid-is-alive-and.html
The NFL was started with seed money from Al Capone through his bagman, Charlie Bidwill to George Halas. Tim Mara was a bookie.
The NFL was started because the American public stopped gambling on sports after the Black Sox scandal and other fixes in college football.
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2012/jul/04/citylights1-nfl-dirty-secret/
Now you know why the NFL is the only professional league which requires all teams to report on all injuries.
you have no credibility when it comes to any sports glaze so please
no more reaching into the past predictions. You don’t know it…
you didn’t explain that game and you have no facts to back up
your claim.
However…your headline is correct. If voters had approved the rolling
roof at arrowhead this super bowl would have been played in KC…
wow…think about that.
Um, I believe that is a picture of Matt Cassell on the top of this article
Yes, I don’t pick the photos. I like New England today in a close one…thugs vs. the Yankees in a way….I just like Tom Brady and want to see him get one more. I am hoping the Seattle backfield injuries give the Pats an edge. We’ll see. This one is a toss up
P.S. Seattle is now a 1 point favorite today.
gronk versus chandler is the matchup to watch.
Grock deflates the ball 2 or 3 times while hernandez sits in jail.
What a shame.
“I was close with the team and players when all this went down.” I nominate this for the Pinocchio Award.
I don’t like either teams today but expect the Patriots will win. Seahawks sound too much like jayhawks. Are the seahawks a fake bird too?
JACK a….s….s I love that so I made that up too, my book is made up my whole life is made up..I chaired Red Friday for years hung out with Marcus, Joe, Ted,Neil, Derrick maybe off and on with ten players or more some lived in my building the Sulgrave…I hate troll haters like you, just jealous punks and you are one…I do get sick of it and you are sickening again you couldn’t carry my left sock Jack…a…s….s
Jack rather than sound like a jealous b…it…ch..why not shut up..there were maybe 100 or so articles about me and Chiefs and players in the 90’s by Flannigan, Hearne and others…its not a big deal to befriend some players they hung out at my club…you wouldn’t know that cause you never went out and don’t know anything really…when people call you a liar on things that are well known its double sickening..of course nobody would ever say any of this to my face and we know why…chicken…
So to make my point clear Jack….off..I wasn’t close with the team, I was very close..almost daily contact with key players…very close..now you know..today no I’m not..this team is much different and hasn’t done much..some players like Eric Fisher do come to my club but its not the same.
Good God dude………you are the easiest troll in the land… If having “football players” come to your club is the high light of your life then…dude you are sad.
“I wasn’t close with the team, I was very close”
= Middle-aged jock sniffer.
Were you the one supplying them coke?
CG-
Screw football, any chance of getting SNL’s Leslie Jones at Stanfords?
We did get BREAKING BADS DEA Gomes, Michael Quezada to come and he’s been on SNL will be there for Valentines I’ll check into her…some don’t do standup
With Gannon the Cannon, the Chiefs sure looked like a sure thing,
But Grbac got the call – come on!!! … good-bye Super Bowl ring!
Don’t forget how Gannon should have been starting over Bono in that freezing 1993 Colts game that uneducated fans blame in Lin Eliot.
Yes
But Steve had a solid year and we hadn’t seen enough of Rich yet.
I know Bono went to the Pro Bowl that year. That said, only one QB had a lower yardage per completion than Bono and that was Boomer Esiason. Boomer was playing his last season on one of the NFL’s all time worst teams. The Jets went 1-15 that year. He is the only guy with less yards than Bono. Bono had a great completion percentage throwing 4-yard swing passes to Marcus Allen on 3rd & 7 and then punting. You know, Martyball. Marty was his own worst enemy and couldn’t manage the most important position in all of sports. He was so bad at it Eli Manning refused to play for him and I don’t blame him at all. Marty would have ruined his career. Marty and Carl’s egos pissed away a couple of Super Bowl’s around here.
good super bowl.
can’t wait for glaze to get his eyes lasiked so where he looks into his
crystal ball he won’t be wrong 80 per cent of the time.
Have a good off year . Don some research befor the home opening
of royals…and don’t go to vegas or bet on some crazy tease.
you’re already way in the hole!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
take care
your friend Harley. (the real Harley_