Chiefs vs Bucs: Report from Arrowhead
I have been doing this for a while now and I just thought that since I am a season ticket holder and actually go to all of the games maybe I should share what goes down at Arrowhead on the day of the game (at least from my perspective).
So we rolled off of the exit ramp at about 8:40 this morning, not seeing as much traffic as we thought we would but nonetheless happy that we got to the parking gates with the quickness. Once they scanned our parking pass we headed into the lot and noticed that the lots had more cars than they normally do at this time in the morning.
We normally get there about the same time every week and the last few games it was so crowded that we actually got to park in the first non-handicapped row, literally right in front of the stadium. (Holla parking section C7!). Today they were already working on filling up the second row, but we managed to Sneak-King our way on the backside of parking row 1. Yeah, its a sweet spot! 
After playing a little catch, while the cars kept filtering in, we went ahead and set up the party zone. (That’s right, I said “party zone” lol…) Anyway, after we got all set up we poured an anonymous drink and took a seat. As we looked around it took us by surprise; Our row was now filled to the brim with tents, grills and people. After having a semi-sub par outings the home game before the Arrowhead atmosphere was back… and it was awesome! You could actually feel the optimism in the air, people believed and Arrowhead was once again the place to be on a Sunday morning.
The rest of the tailgate was spent eating, drinking and socializing. We parked next to some really cool people (who’s names I can’t remember at the moment) who came all the way up from Wichita. We actually took a photo with this group of people which I will try to post with a few other photos from game day in a post within the next day or two. We had a blast and this dude had some of the best turkey I have ever tasted. It was the BOMB.
Pre-game tailgating was now complete so we packed it up and headed into the game with about 20 minutes left until kick-off. On the way to the gates we did get distracted when we spotted a couple Chiefs cheerleaders … don’t worry the photo will be posted soon.
We got to our seats with perfect timing as shortly thereafter we sang the Nation Anthem, yelled “Home of the… CHIEFS!!”, and saw/felt/heard the flyover. Man, that gets me every time.
Once the game kicked off Arrowhead Stadium was actually pretty full. More people than I thought would be there were filling the seats and judging by my recording the game was not blacked out. So that is good at least.
The mood of the stadium was pretty positive to start the game and, as you can guess, it got better and better as the first half went on. During the first half many hands were slapped, lots of “Gettin’ Thiggy with it” comments were made, and I think I may have seen a manly chest bump or two… yeah, I’ll leave that one alone.
Even at half time and well into the second half of the game you could tell everyone still believed the Chiefs could win this game and then it happened. I can’t tell you exactly what play or the time on the clock, but everyone in the stadium could feel it… there was doubt.
The momentum had officially shifted in their favor and everything then started going right for the Bucs. They scored on a half back option pass, connected on the two-point conversion for the tie, and then eventually won the coin toss along with the game. Once the Bucs won the coin flip in OT I had a bad feeling, I knew the game was over, I was just hoping I was wrong.
I only saw a few Tampa fans at the game and none of them stood out to me, I didn’t even really hear any cheering when the Bucs finally pulled out the game. I’m pretty sure they knew how lucky they had been to get this victory so they just left it at that.
As we took the “walk of shame” down the swirling concrete concord I just felt dejected. The heartbreaking Chiefs had gave me hope, only to let me down once again. We have now lost 16 of the last 17 games…
The rest of the late afternoon was filled with some post-game tailgating, kicking, passing, punting, and a ride back home where we discussed the status and played out future scenarios of our Chiefs.
Alas, I am at home writing you this blog entry, now dead tired from a day Chiefs football in the sun.
See you another day Arrowhead.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Comments
2 Comments on Chiefs vs Bucs: Report from Arrowhead
-
Ryan Lode on
Tue, 4th Nov 2008 12:16 pm
-
bigknoxy on
Tue, 4th Nov 2008 2:19 pm
There was a definite “buzz” in the stadium when the game started, something I don’t remember from the other home games this year, even Denver. It was a thrilling 1st half (except the final 133 seconds). The kick return for a TD and our next possession going 3 and out (or close to) is when the tide turned for me. I could feel it slipping through our fingers. Unfortunately I was right and we lost the game, there was no reason we should have. Herm apparently came out of his coma and resumed play calling, handcuffing Gailey the entire 2nd half it felt. Oh well, we were all mad when we lost but by the time we had made it into the parking lot my outlook had changed. Isn’t this what we really wanted??? A strong performance, showing that we can be competitive, move the ball, stop them on defense, but overall “get the loss” so we can get a better draft pick! It’s sad to say, but we aren’t playing for the playoffs, we’re playing for a top 5 pick.
Side note, just imagine if we had won the last two games against the Bucs and Jets, which we probably should have. We’d now be 3-5 and only ONE GAME out of first place in the AFC West! It’s crazy how close to a reality that was!!!
Yeah, I heard others in the parking lot talking about us playing for the top 5 pick as well… it’s too bad. My response (if for nothing else than to play the other side) is this: A top 5 pick does not guarantee anything anything, especially with the Chiefs draft history. For every example of a good high draft pick you can always bust out a Ryan Sims.
And on your side note, that is crazy. We were talking about that on the way home from the game as well. IF the Chiefs were 3-5 we would have to be the odds on favorites to win the West as well coming off two straight wins. IF only… LOL
Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!
-
KC Chiefs Football on Facebook
-
