It is really interesting how personal tragedy has a way of changing perspectives on sports and life. Throughout most of this disappointing season for the Chiefs, there was a growing disconnect between the organization and its fans. People were staying away from the stadium in droves, flying airplanes around the stadium demanding the firing of General Manager Scott Pioli and Coach Romeo Crennell, and the ones that were coming to the games were wearing black shirts out of shame at the team's struggles and propensity for turning the ball over. But it is really interesting how the Jovan Belcher tragedy, in which the well-liked Chiefs linebacker took his own life as well as that of his girlfriend's, had a way of changing peoples' perspectives on things. This Sunday, most of the fans wore red again, the stadium was full, and the noise was as loud as it ever was during the height of the Marty Schottenheimer/Derrick Thomas years when the Chiefs routinely were at or near the top of the league in sacks every year. The Arrowhead Magic was back as the Chiefs beat the Carolina Panthers 27-21.
The first thing we noticed when we listened to the radio while shopping at Hy-Vee was the totally different atmosphere at Arrowhead during the fourth quarter. We weren't even really concerned about the Chiefs at that point; we had a lot of other things to do at that moment. But we tuned in when we realized that they actually had a chance to win. It was a stark contrast to earlier in the year when the Chiefs were playing the Raiders at home and you could not tell whether the game was being played at Kansas City or Oakland.
It was only a matter of time before the Chiefs would have eventually won another game; they had started playing better football after Coach Romeo Crennell started making everyone accountable, starting with himself, when he sidelined himself from his defensive coordinator duties so that he could devote more time to running the team. They were doing better, throwing scares into Denver and Pittsburgh before losing.
Both Pioli and Crennell have come in for a ton of criticism this year for this disappointing season, in which the Chiefs were supposed to contend for a division title, but are now struggling just to win a game. There will be plenty of time to debate what changes need to be made in light of this season. After Belcher took his girlfriend's life, he drove to the Chiefs practice facility, where both Crennell and Pioli were and thanked them for standing by him, and then took out his gun and shot himself before anyone could stop him and before the police could get there. The Chiefs were faced with a difficult decision as to whether or not to play Sunday's game, especially in light of the fact that both Pioli and Crennell witnessed the shooting. But it was the right decision to play the game; the game had a way of bringing the team, the organization, and the fans together again.
It was a surreal game of football in which the Chiefs were unrecognizable as a football team for those who had followed this disappointing campaign closely. Playing against the always dangerous Carolina Panthers, the Chiefs only allowed one sack, did not turn the ball over once, and only committed one penalty, a delay of game penalty committed late in the game when they were trying to run down the clock. And when it was all over, Chiefs radio announcer Mitch Holthus was on the verge of tears on the air as he described how the team and organization had come together. Nobody involved in this tragedy will ever get completely over what had happened, but the healing has already begun. Owner Clark Hunt, who has been blasted by critics for being absent during the team's struggles, appeared on the radio pregame show and has been in the forefront of public view, pledging to do everything he can to help.
But when all is said and done, it is still only a game. The real victim in this case is a young infant daughter who was left an orphan by this senseless tragedy. She will grow up for the rest of her life not knowing a mother or a father. The best way to deal with this is for each of us to prevent these acts of violence before they happen. Below are numbers that you can call if you or someone you know or love is suicidal or involved in a domestic violence situation:
Nationwide suicide-prevention lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK or
1-800-SUICIDE. Both lines connect to a nationwide network that quickly
routes calls to the nearest available mental health professional. It’s
free, anonymous and available 24 hours a day. Nationwide
domestic-abuse help: 1−800−799−SAFE (7233). Hotline advocates are
available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide
crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to
agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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