Not so long ago, the Kansas City Royals won the AL Pennant in 2014 and 2015 and won the World Series in 2015. This was a moment that Kansas City sports fans will never forget, and it will always be one of my favorite memories. During that stretch, my father repeated, “Enjoy this moment and enjoy the ride because you never know when this will come to an end.”
I thought I fully understood my father’s wisdom and I tried my best to follow this advice. Now, seven years and two 100-loss seasons later, I realize I never fully embraced just how special those two amazing years were.
Now, as Chiefs fans, we have had the extraordinary honor of watching the best player on planet Earth play quarterback for the past five years. It’s also amazing to think that there is a good chance we will be able to watch him play for the Chiefs for another 15-plus years. Mahomes has been vocal about playing until 45 if he can do it. Imagining Mahomes still throwing touchdown passes as a Chief when my eight-year-old daughter and four-year-old son are in college is incredible to think about.
We all have our favorite Mahomes moments and memories over the past five years and it’s amazing to think what else he may have in store. This is a “fat and happy” time for all Chiefs fans, and I fully hope all of us are aware and appreciative of this moment.
With all that being said, I sometimes wonder if we are all fully understanding, appreciating, and enjoying every moment of this time as Chiefs fans. I certainly lump myself into this category. I recently had a conversation with a Patriots fan who has a love for Boston sports like no other. He loves sharing his favorite moments and will tell me more Tom Brady stories than you can possibly imagine. The other day, he told me, “I hope you all realize just how special this time is as a Chiefs fan. I never thought I would see the day where Brady would win a Super Bowl with another team and see my Patriots not even make the playoffs with a no-name at quarterback. Enjoy the ride with your Superman quarterback. It will go by in a blink of an eye.”
This comment truly made me pause and reflect on a wide variety of different things as a Chiefs fan. It seems like just yesterday when Mahomes was in his first year as a starter and won the NFL’s MVP award. That was back in 2018. Three years have quickly gone by and it’s unbelievable to think about how much has changed for us as Chiefs fans. We have experienced nothing but winning, hosted four straight AFC Championship games, went to two Super Bowls, and finally brought home the Lombardi trophy and had a parade to remember for a lifetime.
All of this would have been inconceivable to Chiefs fans no more than seven or eight years ago. All we knew as Chiefs fans were heartache, what-ifs, if-onlys, what-could-have-beens, and always watching other fans celebrate the victories we never thought we would enjoy.
Sure, it’s taken more than Mahomes magic for all of this to happen. We have a Hall of Fame coach, the best general manager in the NFL, the best tight end in NFL history, and some good fortune along the way that never shined on us in previous years. But everything changed for us on draft night in 2017 when the Chiefs took the gamble of the millennium and traded up to pick a raw quarterback who many thought had no chance of being successful in the NFL. Way too many teams have taken this gamble in the past and failed miserably.
Thankfully, fortunately, incredibly enough, it worked out for the Chiefs and our soon-to-be Superman quarterback. Now, we get to sit back and enjoy many more jaw-dropping performances. Looking at his statistics and projections will never get old. Keep in mind that Matt Cassel and Brody Croyle were once our quarterbacks. Oh, how perspective can help you savor special moments.
This has also made me think a lot more about my life, the decisions I have made, and whether I am truly enjoying the moment when the sun is shining brightest. Sports provide the greatest life analogies. I have often reflected on moments in my life and thought to myself, “Goodness, I thought I knew how great that moment was, but I had no idea how special it really was until now after it was over.”
This is something I am trying to change as I get older.
We all have been through so much in the past few years and not all of it has been good. We are not promised anything. Nothing. Not even tomorrow. So, my advice to all of us as Chiefs fans and fellow humans is to savor every moment we have, live life to the fullest each day, enjoy the great moments when we have them, savor the sweetness of every sweet moment, take some chances, believe in yourself even when nobody else does, and trust your instincts.
Know it might not always work out. Failures are inevitable.
But, sometimes, like the Chiefs found out in 2017, you might get a Patrick Mahomes.
Enjoy every moment, Chiefs fans. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
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