![]() I was refusing to put in any real effort, and I knew I was disappointing the people around me, the people who had worked so hard to see me this far. I had moved away from all my friends and family, was struggling to socialize and make friends, and, despite what I told myself, I really needed some people. I was unhappy and rethinking a lot of my life choices that got me to where I was. I was also struggling really bad with school. It always sucks seeing your family for a short period of time then having to leave, especially when college and work schedules made it uncertain when I would be able to drive back and see them again. It felt symbolic of stuff I was dealing with. Sure, one loss does not define the season, but the Chiefs were so close to this one, and it felt like the Chiefs were going to fall short the same way they always did. As a Chiefs fan, I knew this feeling, It was what it felt like to lose. ![]() ![]() The Falcons line up for a 2-point conversion to try to keep the Chiefs from winning on a field goal. The game was coming to a close and the Falcons had just scored a touchdown to take a one point lead late in the fourth. The drive to Springfield is not anything special, just a ton of highway driving and some really long stretches of livestock, so Holthus had my undivided attention. Of course, my dad had taught me the brilliance of Mitch Holthus calling plays on the radio, so I had tuned in to the Chiefs matchup against the Atlanta Falcons in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This was one of those Sundays and I was somewhere between first and second hour of that drive. In order to guarantee I was back on campus in time, I had to leave right after lunch on Sunday. This meant that any time I came to visit my family, it had to be on a weekend. I was 18 at the time and going to college in Springfield, Missouri, a three hour drive from my parentes. As a matter of fact, my favorite Chiefs memory came from a moment where no one else was within miles of me. My favorite Chiefs memory, however, did not spawn from my family or watching the game in the living room after church. My brother is not the biggest football fan, but when we were younger and he would still play Madden with me, we would always play as the mascots, using exclusively hit stick tackles. The family pictures from that game still rotate on my mom’s desktop background. My second trip to Arrowhead was to see an Oakland Raiders game, where we met up with my aunt from my mom’s side, another Raiders fan. My parents kept the tickets on the fridge for a long time. My first trip to Arrowhead Stadium was for a preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. My cousin once got in trouble at school for saying “Home of the Chiefs” during the national anthem. My grandma once called my dad after Tony Gonzalez took a nasty hard hit in the end zone because she was worried about him. ![]() My mom may be a Raiders fan, but I will never forget how much she enjoyed watching Dexter Mccluster return punts. I grew up following the Chiefs, with some of my favorite and most fun Chiefs’ memories coming from them. I am sure I watched the Chiefs before then, but my memory just does not serve me any farther back. My earliest Chiefs-related memory is actually watching them take on the Raiders and listening to my mom and dad talk about the rivalry and what it meant to both teams. My mom is a Raiders fan, sure, but even she acknowledged that they were the bad guys, especially when compared to the Chiefs. My dad is a Chiefs fan, as is every member of my family on my dad’s side. This is the story of one of those moments. It’s a chance to remember the moments that defined both the team and the fans that follow them closely. With that time of celebration also comes a time of reflection, giving fans a chance to look back and remember the ups and downs of Chiefs’ fandom the last 50 years. Despite a 6-4 start to the season, the short loss of the franchise’s face to a knee injury, playing every AFC playoff team but one, going down 24 points in the divisional round, and facing the league’s best rushing attack, the Chiefs are heading to Miami and have a chance to make history. Chiefs fan and contributor Byron Smith recalls the moment when an unexpected heroic play from Eric Berry taught him to hold out hope in his own life.įor fans of the Kansas City Chiefs, it is a time of celebration.įor the first time since 1969, the Kansas City Chiefs have found their way to the Super Bowl. ![]()
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