Age has never mattered much — 30, 40, 50, 60. They’re all good ages and nothing to get in a tizzy over, considering the alternative to hitting those milestones.
Sure, aging brings along some inconveniences: those uncomfortable little twinges in the back, the laugh lines that progress to flat-out wrinkles, and the eyes that need longer arms to focus on a recipe or a good book. It happens to all of us, when we’re lucky enough to live this long.
So I was surprised when an epiphany swept over me Saturday night as the Chiefs opened their pre-season schedule with a loss to the Houston Texans.
I am galloping towards my own finish line while the Chiefs find new ways to avoid success. The bottom line is, how many more “wait ’til next years” do I have left?
In January, it will be 40 years since Super Bowl IV, when Kansas City tromped the Minnesota Vikings and their obnoxious quarterback, Joe Kapp, 23-7.
Kansas City television stations re-broadcast the game several times in the weeks that followed, and I watched them all, as excited with the reruns as I was during the original game. A dear friend tracked down a DVD of Super Bowl IV and gave it to me for Christmas several years ago, letting me drown in the pleasure of watching it whenever I need a boost. It’s almost a religious experience.
Beyond God, family and friends, including the four-footed ones, there is nothing dearer to my heart than the Chiefs.
As of this weekend, though, it’s no longer a joke when I say I just want to live long enough to see them win another Super Bowl. I mean it from the depths of my soul, and it needs to happen soon. Who knows how many “rebuilding” seasons I have left left?
Will our next Super Bowl game find me shrunken and shriveled, still wearing that old No. 16 jersey with “Dawson” lettered on the back and utterly clueless about what’s going on? Will the Chiefs be the Cubbies of football?
I don’t have time to wait and see.
The Chiefs are still my team, but this year I’m going to keep an eye on the Atlanta Falcons, too.
I may not deserve another Super Bowl, but our old tight end, Tony Gonzalez, most assuredly has earned his chance at a first.