Strange things can happen when one takes up “jock sniffing” as a profession…
Kansas City Star sports writer Vahe Gregorian, for instance.
In a recent chant, Gregorian claimed, “It’s time for a monument to honor heroic Joe Delaney.”
Hold it right there…
At this stage of the game, the concept of a monument to a Chiefs star from 40 years back, is well past its sell-by date.
Or as Barack Obama might say, “The 1980s are calling to ask for their foreign policy back.”
Because the cold, hard truth is, in Delaney’s brief stint with the Chiefs he netted one 1,000-plus yard rushing season with three touchdowns and a second season with 380 yards rushing and no touchdowns.
Not exactly the stuff NFL legends are made of.
That said, by all accounts, Delaney was a really nice guy who couldn’t swim and drowned in six foot deep water trying in vain to save two kids who also died.
Now, 40 years after-the-fact – the 1981 and 1982 seasons – Gregorian wants to lionize him?
Trouble is, Delaney has already been sufficiently honored.
Vahe
For starters, he’s in the Chiefs Hall of Fame; his name in enshrined on the “Ring of Honor” at Arrowhead; and the team retired his jersey number.
There’s more…
President Ronald Reagan awarded Delaney something called a Presidential Citizens Medal; the NCAA gave him an Award of Valor and a group of oldster Chiefs fans started a non- profit that donated money to the Red Cross to provide swimming lessons to underprivileged kids (which blew taps 14 years ago and is long since forgotten).
So what’s left to honor?
Pretty much nobody much under the age of 50’s ever heard of Delaney, and no way is he going make it into the pro football hall of fame with those numbers.
And not to be wildly cold, but had Delaney not been – for the blink-of-an-eye – a Chiefs star, would anybody be erecting anything to him ever?
Let alone at this point in time.
People die all the time trying to save folks from dire straights – and successful or not, on occasion they are honored. But seldom to the extent Delaney’s already been honored for his brief NFL career and successes.
The bottom line: I’m thinking Vahe was having a really slow news day, but who knows?
Never forget the boomer. They ask for exceptions for themselves but none for others. They demand that both choices for president be their age. They work for decades with pensions and 401k plans being paid 6 figures for a job that is done today by a Heavy.com stringer for 15k a year. But when they are laid off, they conduct a two decades long smear campaign against their old employer. For anyone under 60, this makes you unemployable. But not the eternal boomer.
Yeah Hearne, it would be nice to keep the tributes going for people to remember Delaney. Perhaps because he had a career cut short in it’s prime in an effort to save children is why he should be honored.
That a shot?
Clue in Corona…he’s already been honored to the 10th power.
At this stage of the game the few people who have even heard of him are down the road and there’s little to no need to rekindle the long since died out embers.