All quiet along the midwestern front…
Missing in action here in KC: pretty much any evidence that the Chiefs are Super Bowl bound…favored, not less.
I spent Sunday canvassing the Cowtown – Brookside to Overland Park, Lenexa to downtown KC. Yet, aside from Union Station, the Downtown Marriott and a smattering of minimal other examples, there was virtually zero evidence that the Chiefs are poised to play in the biggest single sporting event in the world.
For example, outside of sports shops, Crown Center was a Chiefs-free zone.
No banners, no red fountains – even the decorative outdoor lighting is boring plain white.
Liberty Memorial? Didn’t see any red there. Ditto for the streets downtown, midtown and the Power & Light District.
Pretty much the only red I saw in five hours were the traffic signals and tail lights on cars.
I don’t get it.
When Marty Schottenheimer‘s Chiefs went 13-3 in 1995 and 1997 the town went crazy.
The Plaza’s Bruce Smith’s Drugs became Neil Smith Drugs.
The town was on fire with signage, red fountains and the like.
Ditto for the 2003 Chiefs team that finished with a 13-3 record.
Yet, all three teams washed ashore in the divisional playoffs by a combined total of 14 points.
Think of it, a measly 14 points separated the teams from possible Super Bowl appearances..
They lost 10-7 to the Colts in ’95; 14-10 to the Broncos in ’97; and, 38-31 again to the Colts in 2003.
Maybe Chiefs fans are just worn out from their 50 year wait.
Still, it seems like the city should be alive and kicking with, you know, something – anything.
Weird.
I and a few of my friends no longer watch the NFL (Sundays are like Olly Olly Oxen Free. No one is anywhere, no lines, Golf courses are dead, it is really cool.), but, come on buddy, it is THIS week, coming up.
Give it a chance.
Not sure what your point is here…
But for years I’ve taken advantage of NFL Sundays to run errands, shop, you-name-it.
It’s very liberating.
Now this year, I have to say, I’ve been a fairly regular watcher of Chiefs games.
That said, I’m not a fanatic. If I have something else to do or get busy and forget to watch it or join it in progress or miss it, no harm, no foul.
“I and a few of my friends no longer watch the NFL”
– you’ve more friends than you know (much to advertiser chagrin, a go boob-tubeless wave coming – and – ultimately running ‘away’ them.) Kerouac’s last Superbowl viewing #52, last year’s #53 as this year’s #54 and those future no longer profitable, minds the un-indoctrinated.
All across the ‘fruity’ alphabet plain USA 2020, as wuss-ification game same, traditionalists – real men and women who deserve that pedestal – are turning away. Turning away a once great gridiron – 86’ing/file 13’ing away an mixed-gender ‘one size fits all’ thought as bought and paid for’ faux-world $ports’…
‘When It Was Just A Game’ as case first one 1967, ‘Superbowl’ has become an over-hyped, over-produced convergence, an entertainment mish-mash where ‘let’s partay’ supersedes ‘let’s play football, REAL football. As most everything today’s counterfeit world no vestige, sports not worth shedding a cosmic tear.
😎
The Super Bowl is by no means the “largest single sporting event in the world.” An average non-championship European or South American soccer (real football) game draws three or four times the viewership the “Big Game” gets.
I don’t know about that, BUT:
“The Super Bowl is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day.[1] In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year; the seven most-watched broadcasts in U.S. television history are Super Bowls.[2] In 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114.4 million viewers, the fifth time in six years the game had set a record, starting with Super Bowl XLIV, which itself had taken over the number-one spot held for 27 years by the final episode of M*A*S*H.[3][4][5] The Super Bowl is also among the most-watched sporting events in the world, almost all audiences being North American, and is second to the UEFA Champions League final as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide”
An estimated 3.572 billion people, roughly half the world’s population watched 2018 World Cup Soccer played in Russia. But no doubt we Mericans love our NFL and pro wrasslin.
What’s not to love about rasslin’?
The Saudisa clearly love it, too…to the point of allowing women rasslers and Saudi women the in audience to watch it!
BTW:
“The average global live audience of 2018 FWC Russia was 191 million viewers, a slight 2.1% increase over the 2014 tournament average of 187 million viewers.”
VERSUS:
?The 2018 Super Bowl had an average viewership of 103 million in the U.S. plus an estimated 50 to 60 million around the world?”
Can’t compare cumulative ratings for a week’s long event with a single game, wild man
“The Super Bowl is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption”
– ‘cept in Kansas City, where everyday is Superbowl Sunday (Monday – Saturday as well diurnals yet be invented/visited…
Speaking of the latter: “after Thanksgiving Day”
– ‘there’s got to be a morning after, trip to the ER/porcelain bowel’ – halftime – or, put another – “here in KC, we spell it ‘the 50 year belly ache’ “…
😎
I was downtown last Saturday night and noticed a large chunk of the skyline was lit up red. I think this city is showing it’s Chiefs spirit.
Are we talking about a sunset?
The Downtown Marriott’s giant video arcade?
Please explain, where did the “red” nightlight emanate from?
Hearne – Come on.
You make it sound like you were at Oak Park Mall while the Chiefs Superbowl was on and it was packed with people looking for the recent sales at Macy’s.
This city is top-to-down Chiefs crazy right now and while it’s not the mid 90’s anymore – and people do have different ways to express themselves – I have senior neighbors going out to get the mail in 15 jerseys.
If the Chiefs do win the Superbowl there will be a parade like no other in KC – and I am sure I can count on you to write a piece of how the estimate of the crowd was way high.
Go Chiefs!
Well, given our cities well-established track record of making wild, un-corroborated crowd estimates, you’re probably right on that count.
Bill Nigro was explaining away the extreme lack of visual cues by pointing to social media.
Which seems a tad weak to me.
For example, Westport put up blue flags and banners for the Royals World Series run, he says. But nada for the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
Although if they win, he expects a total wilding Sunday night and a bigger turnout – weather permitting – for the parade or whatever.
Oak Park Mall, was merely a stop along the way, as was Crown Center, as was Power & Light and downtown, Brookside, Waldo, etc.
Put another way, it felt like “crickets.”
I’m talking about citywide visuals and decorations…just seems weird.
Hey, even with social media the city somehow finds a way to dress up for Christmas. Why not one of the biggest pop culture events in recent KC history?
So I have been out all over the city in the last 2 days and while I am not a great barometer to determine the enthusiasm of local Chief’s fans, the city seems bereft of flags, posters etc.
I saw very little, maybe a coincidence, but…
You are right about the inconspicuous support. 1.8ish Million people.. lots of Chiefs fans but the ticket holders are those that will skip a mortgage payment to throw down in the lot for that great throw up experience or the richer season ticket holders who pick and choose their games.. will go to Miami for this… but toss off their tix on cold weather games to their underlings or stub hub.
Oh, I’m sure there are more than enough Chiefs fans to go around…
And chances are,. this town will be a total ghost town when that game begins.
That said, I’m just not seeing it, feeling it like in days gone by
Yep it’s different than days gone by..I remember watching the big Chiefs AT Oilers 94 playoff game initially at my parents house but then I left and drove to Independence Center and watched/hoped/prayed at Sears..remember all those TV’s they had lined up? That’s the game where one of the Cash brothers threw a football at a Buddy Ryan(RIP) tapestry after scoring a decisive touchdown. The announcer matter of factly said: “in your face, Buddy”. Montana really carried the whole KC team on his back, proof Marty needed a GREAT qb to win a playoff game or two.
After KC’s big win over Houston I kept on going to the store every day to see if Sports Illustrated would put Montana on the cover and sure enough he was! As a matter of fact, Hearne you posted that cover on this site a few weeks ago, pleasant memories for sure.
What a way to go!
Let me get this straight; you started at your parents, then migrated to In dependence Center and then closed things out in the TV aisle at Sears>
Tough to top that one, but Super Sunday is just around the corner!
Yes I ended up at Sears which was one of Independence Center’s anchors, located on the NW side. Many years later I was in Hawaii and it was the Patriots vs. Eagles Super Bowl(2004). My friend was a huge Patriots fan. I was at his house and suddenly in the 3rd Qtr the game was too close for him and he insisted we both get in my car..dude was very superstitious. So we get in my car and I turn the game on the radio and after driving around awhile he couldn’t listen anymore. It was late 4th Qtr by then, Pats were up less than a TD but they were in the lead, it just wasn’t by enough for him. I get fed up and go to another friends house, we go inside, about 10 people are there and he could barely stand those last few minutes and when it was over and his Pats won he really couldn’t enjoy it. That’s my weirdest Super Bowl ever.
I do remember in Jan 94 Chiefs at Bills AFC Championship game: The morning of the actual game I went to look for a used car to buy as I was on leave from the military and wanted to ship a car to my new assignment in Panama. Anyway, went out looking that freezin’ morn’ and my brother in law and I drove down this street in Independence and we saw an old Cutlas going down the street and the lady passenger had her arm stuck out the window trying to hold up a huge KC Chiefs flag. We just looked at each other and laughed. There was no other sign that the biggest Chiefs game in 25 years was about to take place. Got back to the house and watched the game in horror and a few days later I was off to better climes at Howard Air Force Base, Panama.