More Than A Game

"The emotions of what has taken place will probably hit home for a few guys the next few days, when they realize what's taken place." — Brady Quinn, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback.

I always look forward to Sundays in the fall, thanks in large part to football. There is nothing like the NFL. Inevitably a three and a half hour game comes down to the final two minutes. And the happenings of those two minutes are the fodder of blogs, radio call in shows, and office conversations for the next week. There is something magical about football.

But it's just a game. It's not life. That's something that was all too clear yesterday.

The Kansas City Chiefs won a game Sunday. They beat the visiting Carolina Panthers 27-21. It was big news — but not for the reason you'd think. The Chiefs haven't won much, that's true. Winning yesterday was the first home victory in seven tries this season, and only the second game in 12 where the Chiefs have emerged victorious. But simply winning wasn't the reason the game was news — it was the stuff of life that occurred on Saturday.

Jovan Belcher, a fourth year pro and starting linebacker for the Chiefs, arrived at the team facility in an agitated state on Saturday morning. After speaking to the team's GM, Scott Pioli, head coach, Romeo Crennel, and another coach, Belcher took his own life. It was just the beginning of a strange and tragic day for the Chiefs, residents of Kansas City, and many others.

Questions began to swirl over whether Sundays game would even be played. It would be reasonable to call it off, after all who among us is immune to the kind of emotional difficulties that come with something as tragic and senseless as what happened Saturday morning. But the Chiefs coaches and players elected to play.

Crennel, who gave a beautiful post-game interview, said the game was a nice distraction for the hurting and confused players. Doubtless it was a nice distraction for Crennel and others who — though needlessly — feel a bit responsible for how events unfolded in the parking lot Saturday morning.

I am a life-long Denver Broncos fan. The Chiefs are our rivals on the field, but Sunday I couldn't help but root for them. I couldn't help but cheer as, despite their confusion, grief, and pain, those players rallied and played one of the best games of their season.

But, given the events of the day before, it's hard to imagine winning a game is the most important thing to any of them.