Six takeaways from a trip to Arrowhead
My son Cole and I attended his first live Chiefs game Friday. Here are some things about ball and life.
“That was stressful”
That was the first coherent thought that came out of the mouth of my 13-year-old son, Cole, as we left Arrowhead Stadium amid a sea of Chiefs fans on Friday evening. The Chiefs had managed to somehow win a game even more miraculously (or weirdly) than they have all season and moved to 11-1 on the year. They had clinched a playoff spot. Arrowhead had been electric and rocking. By all accounts the primary emotion should have been joy. And yes, there was certainly a buzz and a sense of happiness that can only come from your team getting a win.
But as often happens with the bluntness of youth, Cole had hit the nail on the head with a smile and a laugh. The game certainly wasn’t always FUN, despite containing fun moments. Just like the 2024 season certainly hasn’t consistently been fun despite having flashes of joy. What it has been, consistently, is… well, stressful.
Chiefs fans have very little to complain about. Kansas City is in the midst of the most successful dynasty in professional sports, and one of the greatest runs in the history of the NFL. They are, as I’ve already said, 11-1 and have clinched a playoff spot. It truly is a good time to be a Chiefs fan. But every single one of these games is taking approximately six months off my life, and the best description of what it is like to be a Chiefs fan this season is a meme that basically says we spend 58 miserable minutes only to find a win at the end of the journey every week (NSFW language in the tweet).
It was only fitting, then, that Cole was able to articulate the biggest takeaway from Arrowhead with the first thing that he said. The second? “That was fun, though.” And you know what? He’s absolutely right. This game is a drug that we’ll never quit, even as the Chiefs do their best to explore ways to make us try.
Given I’m still on a road trip with Cole (who is happily sleeping as a write this, completely worn out from his first trip to Arrowhead and from eating approximately 3 pounds of meat at Joe’s following the game), I’m going to keep it brief today and just talk about some of the biggest takeaways from Arrowhead last night. Some I’ll be diving more deeply into this week (looking at you, Josh Williams), some might not even relate to football, and some will relate to a bit in which I’ve somehow become the bad guy in a Chiefs’ player’s story.
But the biggest takeaway? The 2024 Chiefs are incredibly stressful to watch and cheer for (whether you love them or hate them). Let’s talk about some other takeaways from Arrowhead, from Xavier Worthy to Charles Omenihu to what really matters about sports.