Two of the guys in my circle of friends were really nervous coming into today. They grew up Chiefs fans, so rabid about their fandom that they are basically fluent with all of the statistics of the team dating back to before I was born. They spoke of previous times the Chiefs met the Colts in the playoffs, and those games were so notorious among Kansas City fans that they had names, like the "No Punt Game." Not once had KC gotten past them in the playoffs, in all those years. This afternoon, the guys were deep in superstition, not saying anything that could possibly jinx today's match. When I arrived to watch the game, saw their tension, and took a cleansing breath and said, "It will be fine," they both pointed at me and informed me that I couldn't talk like that. Not until the last second expires in the fourth quarter of the game.
It has been a fun season thus far, watching and cheering for the team with our neighbor. For the last thirty-plus years, I've been supporting the Broncos, no surprise. When T moved in, we resolved to be polite about each other's team preferences, and watch together without malice. While I had Sunday ticket, he would come over to my TV room and scare my cats when he whooped and yelled at big plays. That first year, in October, when his Chiefs' season had already gone downhill fast, he sighed and said, "Well, football season starts in eleven months." He had given up completely. Things looked up a little over the subsequent seasons, but this year has been something special. All of the gang has been warming up to that team, at first for T's boyish enthusiasm, and then for our own independent enjoyment. This year, we are all on board the Mahomes train, and it has been a successful bonding experience. We are only half joking when we say we could rent a large van and go out to Arrowhead stadium next year as a group road trip.
There was a lot of loud energy in the TV room this afternoon. We had plenty of opportunities to cheer. The two lifelong superfans were on their feet every few minutes, woo-hooing and high-fiving. I told T there was no way I would high five today, because he'd hurt me without realizing. It's a good thing he trained his dogs to remain calm when he leaps off the couch and shouts. The quest has been completed, the dragon slain. The Chiefs beat the Colts, and advanced to the AFC championship. I might make a prediction about how that will go next week, but I think the guys will yell at me for jinxing it.
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