Fair-Weather Fan

Am I a fair-weather fan?  I grew up in Denver where the religion was football, and Mile High Stadium its cathedral.  In the Bronco’s early years fans were plentiful, loud and loyal. The team was lousy. Whenever Hank Stram and the hated Kansas City Chiefs came to town you could count on a loss with a lopsided score.  The only solace was, weather permitting, throwing snowballs at the Chiefs from the old South Stands.

The Broncos went through many lean years and dozens of now forgotten quarterbacks. Things turned around when Craig Morton became Denver’s first bona fide big-league quarterback.  He led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl.  They lost.  Then came John Elway and the glory years of the Broncos.  Elway led the Broncos to five Super Bowls.  Absent a supporting cast, the first three were losses.  Finally surrounded by championship talent, Elway ended his career with 2 Super Bowl victories.  Following the 2013 season, quarterbacked by Peyton Manning, Denver lost in what was probably the ugliest Super Bowl ever played.  Two years later, Manning and the Bronco’s redeemed themselves in the championship game.

Twenty-five years I lived away from Denver, first in Manhattan KS and then in St. Louis.  During all that time I remained a Bronco fan.  When in St. Louis, I enjoyed the Rams.  Called “the greatest show on turf” and led by quarterback Kurt Warner, they went to two Super Bowls, winning one and losing the other. However, St. Louis was a baseball town, not a football town, and the Rams were destined to leave the city.  For me, it was still “go Broncos.”

Seven years ago, I moved to Kansas City, a great football town, on par with Denver.  During these years, I’ve seen the decline of the Broncos and the rise of the Chiefs.  My roots are in Denver.  My home is in Kansas City.  Pulled in two directions, a few years ago I found myself beginning to cheer for the once-hated Chiefs.  With the acquisition of the amazing Patrick Mahomes, surrounded by good coaching and a championship worthy team, I’ve jumped ship and now cheer unabashedly for the Chiefs.  Perhaps I am a fair-weather fan.

This past Sunday the Chiefs won an astounding playoff game, coming back from a 24-point deficit. Next Sunday they play for the AFC championship and, if all goes well, they will be in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years.

January is a dark, cold and dingy month, a month of melancholy.  Yet, with a winning team to cheer on, how much brighter the month seems.  My new philosophy: life is too short to cheer for a losing team. Call me a fair-weather fan.


Speaking of good cheer, I just heard three good jokes on the radio.

Q:  What did the band leader name his daughters?
A:  Anna-One, Anna-Two

Q:  What do you call an illegally parked frog?
A:  Toad (Towed, get it?)

Q:  What’s happened to the man who fell into the upholstery machine?
A:  He’s completely recovered.