Kansas City is my home, always has been, and with that I've always been a KC sports fan. In this article, I wanted to talk about the state of KC sports fanbases and the dynamic of your average Kansas City sports fan. It seems to me like the success of the Chiefs has really gotten to a few people's heads. As KC sports fans we are EXPECTING greatness out of all our other franchises here, however unrealistic that may be. I am telling you right now that this is the wrong way of thinking for certain KC franchises, specifically the Royals, and Sporting KC as of right now. These two programs are in rebuild, albeit the Royals have been in rebuild for too long (There is rather shotty justification behind that that we'll get into)
With rebuilding franchises, the vulnerability to fanbase apathy is high. Fans want to watch a good product on the field, but the only way to get said good product is to build around the team, and that includes fanbase effort and loyalty. I hate to say it, but I think most of you have forgotten how absolutely terrible the Chiefs of 2008 and 2012 were. Yet fans stuck with them, and they got a good product. Funny how that works! Now I fully understand the caveats of bad ownership and being a small market, however fanbase loyalty is also extremely important. Without it, what's the point of making a product at all? With the Royals, SKC, and the KC sports fanbase, there needs to be patience, but also effort in making your team better. It is a full team effort when it comes to small markets, I mean shoot look at the Packers. We are not New York or LA, we are Kansas City, and that pride needs to translate to a fanbase that knows what is best for their team. In the case of the Royals and SKC, they need to figure out a way to rebuild and the ownership needs to listen. For the Chiefs, my gosh can we please stop with the "Patrick Mahomes had a down year" mumbo jumbo? Or how we're gonna be just awful without Tyreek? Patrick Mahomes threw for 4800 yards last year, and Tyreek got replaced by a way better dynamic at wide receiver with multiple serviceable to good players. The Chiefs will be fine, and KC sports fans need to stop being so reactionary if they expect their teams to do better. Show support, cheer loud, and let your voice be heard, but recognize that these guys are professionals for a reason, and if they don't do their job right, they will get fired. Trust in Veach, trust in (At least for a little while longer) Dayton Moore, and goodness trust Peter Vermes. Not one franchise has done anything to earn the ire and vitriol that they get and it doesn't help a thing if you complain if you don't offer up solutions. We are not the Detroit Lions (or any Detroit franchise for that matter), we are not the Arizona Coyotes, we are not the Cleveland Browns. Rant over, Sunday scorcher coming in 3 days late. Thank you for reading, as always.
Burn Notice: 10/10 I just carried in four loads of groceries and I am HOT (Literally)
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