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Thread: Is Arrowhead Dying?

  1. #1
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    Default Is Arrowhead Dying?

    Part 2 of 2

    SYMPTOMS OF THE ILLNESS

    Bob, a season-ticket holder for 17 years now, lives in the suburbs of Kansas City. He’s been a Chiefs fan for longer than most of the current players have been alive. He admits, Arrowhead has lost the magic. But why?

    It boils down to one word.

    “The fans have no confidence and you can sense that,” he says. “It may be loud at times, but the fans are easily taken out of it by lackluster play. There’s booing, empty seats, people leaving early, season-ticket holders selling their seat to opposing fans - Green Bay especially. It was embarrassing the way their fans took over our stadium.”

    Of course, there’s the usual list of suspects, too. A boring, predictable offense, a defense that’s good, but not dominant enough to inspire anyone, and too many quiet fans complaining about their rowdy brethren (the preferred moniker for this brand of football fan is “wine and cheese,” in case you’re not up on the lingo). But Brandon, a Des Moines, Iowa resident who’s cheered on the red and gold since their arrival in Missouri, saw something particularly disturbing this year.

    “At one game there was obviously many new attendees in the stadium because the entire crowd started the wave while our offense was on the field trying to score,” he laments. “That, to me, showed that many regulars were not in attendance.”

    But sometimes it’s about more than the decibel level, a silly stadium tradition or a particular brand of fan. When a stadium begins to die, there’s something else taking place, and we’re not talking about the swing of the wrecking ball that will surely pulverize Arrowhead to the ground in a few decades.

    This symptom isn’t tangible. You can’t see it or touch it. Doug has definitely felt it, though.

    “Ultimately, it’s about hope for the direction of the team,” he says. “The fan base has lost hope, thus the lethargic stadium.

    “No one has any hope that the situation will get better,” says Mike, whose family has held season tickets for 21 years. “Basically, the fans have just completed a 20-year arc with no discernible progress. We started out with Marty with almost no fans, near the bottom of the league, and we are back.”

    No hope? Who is crushing your dreams, Chiefs fans?

    THE DIAGNOSIS

    Russ, who’s been sitting in season-ticket seats for 14 years now, travels three hours each way from Glenwood, Iowa to attend Chiefs games. He was hurt this year when Packers fan exited Arrowhead Stadium chanting “Go, Pack, Go!” and likens hearing the ever-present rhythms of Tony DiPardo’s TD Pack Band to “Groundhog Day.” He’s tired of watching “boring football.”

    Clearly, Russ is a disgruntled season-ticket holder of the highest magnitude. Who does he blame for his Arrowhead depression?

    “Carl Peterson,” says Russ. “He's in charge. He's the ultimate person to blame from coaching choices, personnel, rising ticket prices, changing parking lot policy and not having premium seating available on a 'standard' seat upgrade.”

    Yes, Peterson is a target for many Chiefs fans. In fact, season-ticket holders across the board mentioned Peterson above all others as the source of their disappointment. But it’s fair to say he’s not alone.

    “The easy answer is Carl, he should shoulder much of the blame, but I also blame Edwards,” says Jason. “Herm doesn't interact with the crowd and try to get them riled up. When Dick Vermeil used to come onto the field he would smile and wave his hands at the crowd. That showed how much he appreciated us. But I also blame Vermeil to some extent. He turned the Chiefs into an old ball club with little left in reserve for the future. He had five years to win, and didn't much care about the roster once his five years were up.”

    It’s not just the men in charge of on-the-field matters, however. Two season-ticket holders singled out the Hunt family for not taking appropriate action, and offensive coordinator Mike Solari took his share of the blame. Clearly, Chiefs fans aren’t happy with a wide variety of high-profile faces that run the Chiefs.

    But here’s the good news – Arrowhead may not be dying. Even if it is, there’s a surefire cure.

    CHICKEN SOUP FOR SECTION 110

    OK, we exaggerated. If Arrowhead was really dying, the lower bowl wouldn’t have been nearly packed to the brim for the Raiders game last weekend. Despite that encouraging scene, everything is far from perfect. Brandon calls Arrowhead’s current state a “coma,” and most of his fellow season-ticket holders agree, at least in spirit.

    “It’s not dead yet,” says Rob, “but fans are beginning to lapse into apathy, due to lack of vision and real progress.”

    “No,” says Bob, refuting the notion of a dying Arrowhead. “The game day experience is not the same that it once was, though.”

    “No, it's just on a hiatus like any other team that looks horrible right now,” says a season-ticket holder who declined to identify himself. “As soon as the Chiefs field a competitive team that’s playoff worthy, the stands will fill back up and Carl can once again raise prices.”

    That’s right – season-ticket holders have no problem opening their wallets for a winner. Winning is the pill that can restore Arrowhead to its former vitality. Forget about the coming renovations. They’re nice, say season-ticket holders, but won’t mean squat without a balanced team within.

    “Renovations? I don't know,” says Brandon. “It depends on whether personal seat licenses are instituted. If so, the regular fan base of die-hards may not be able to afford to continue to be season-ticket holders. If this happens, wine and cheese crowds will take over for good.”

    “Only one thing will help,” says Bob. “Put a competitive team on the field, one that is capable of winning a playoff game or two, and the magic will come back.”

    THE INVOICE OF FRUSTRATION

    OK, I think the point has been made. Chiefs fans - and we’re talking about the “real fans,” mind you, not the “teachers” who will exchange the quarters and dimes they found in their couch cushions for upper-deck seats this weekend – are fed up. Arrowhead looks green around the gills (even without Packer fans inside) these days, and it might just honestly be better if it puked everything up and got it over with.

    Stupid medical analogies aside, just how much happiness CAN money buy? Say, the money that Bob, Rob, Jason, Mike, Shane, Russ and all the other dedicated fans poured into the Arrowhead Stadium coffers over the last 5, 10, 15 and yes, even 23 years?

    Well, we’re not going to name dollar amounts. Let’s just say if you put all the money our veteran band of season-ticket holders spent on the Chiefs in 2007 into one big pile, it wouldn’t pay for a used Maybach 62, but it might pay for the retractable electro-transparent partition screen upgrade (and as Dave Barry might say, we are not making this up).

    What did that money buy them? Did the scattered, dozen or so fans that we’ve just profiled get their money’s worth this year?

    “No,” says Doug.

    “Not even close,” says Brandon.

    “Not when I must pay full price for pre-season tickets and can't even give them away,” says Dave. “The greed of the Chiefs is getting significantly worse in every aspect of fan appreciation.”

    “No,” says Shane, “because the Chiefs are losing.”

    “No,” say Mike, Bob, Rob, Darrin, and Jason.

    “Ah, no,” says Russ (who, by the way, really hates those parking lot attendants, not to mention the Wolfpack Club). “I'll continue to spend though. I've got a certain group of friends that I only get to see on gameday.”

    “That's what makes it worth it - friendships with other fans.”

    http://kan.scout.com/a.z?s=115&p=2&c=706800




  2. #2
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    Part 1 of 2

    Is Arrowhead Dying?



    But in the case of a dozen or so Chiefs season-ticket holders, money also doesn’t buy entertainment, or at least the kind they’ve come to expect in return for their years of loyalty to Kansas City’s pro football franchise.

    These aren’t the kind of fans who hopped on the bandwagon and lucked into some seats in 2003, when the Chiefs were exciting and inspired hope throughout the Midwest. No, these are time-tested, weary fans like Dave (no last names in this column, but the people are real), a Liberty, Missouri resident who’s held his seats for 23 years.

    Dave almost gave up his season tickets after 1988 - likely due to the “lean years” the Chiefs suffered through thanks to former head coaches John Mackovic and Frank Gansz – but decided to “give it one more shot” when Carl Peterson took over as General Manager and brought Marty Schottenheimer on board.

    Almost 20 years later, Dave is getting a little frustrated.

    A SICK STADIUM

    Arrowhead Stadium used to be feared around the NFL. You’ve probably heard the story about how Broncos wide receiver Rod Smith almost jumped out of his skin the first time he heard 80,000 fans yell “CHIEFS” at the end of the national anthem. Only problem is, Smith is now all but retired, and in a way, so is the magic of Arrowhead.

    Doug, a season-ticket holder since the mid-90s, remembers what those days were like.

    “Dynamic and fun,” says the Lee's Summit resident. “All 80,000 fans united in a common bond of fandom against a visiting team.”

    Other fans – all of them longtime season-ticket holders – use words like “tingling,” “deafening,” and “goosebumps” to describe Arrowhead’s glory at the height of its power. You get the sense that these raw-throated fans are as much a part of the Chiefs as the names that circle the field on the Ring of Fame.

    “The atmosphere just pulling into the parking lot with thousands of others that really cared about the game, was electric,” says one fan. “Once inside the stadium it was loud and crazy.”

    And nowadays? Well, the Chiefs are 2-4 at home this season. That’s the worst home record posted by a Kansas City team since Dick Vermeil’s first season, and before that you have to go all the way back to the 80s to find a Chiefs team that was worse at home. The Chiefs have been desperately trying to sell tickets all season long, are now offering discounted upper-reserve seats to teachers, and the threat of the first blackout in over a decade looms.

    Yeah, it’s getting bad out there. Just ask those old battlewagons in the stands. Like Jason, an Emporia, Kansas, resident and Chiefs season-ticket holder for 14 years.

    “It’s lost its burst,” he says. “It can get loud, but I think the ****iness went away. Before, I had no doubt we were going to win the game at Arrowhead no matter what year it was. Now, I have no idea what to expect.”

    But it’s worse. Some fans (like Mike, a Belton, Missouri resident and a season-ticket holder for two years) have even begun to compare the atmosphere at the “new” Arrowhead to that experienced at Royals games, and wait until you hear what Rob, who drives all the way from San Diego to watch his Chiefs, has to say.

    “It’s depressing, dead, and pathetic,” says the 17-year season-ticket holder. “It reminds me of visits to Rams home games I've made. Fans are losing hope.”

    Chiefs fans comparing Arrowhead Stadium to the pride of St. Louis?

    What is going on?




  3. #3
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    I just went to the gas station for beer and talked to a season ticket holder from St. Louis and he felt the same way.

    I told him about the Crowd and he said he is gonna check it out when he gets home.

    The guy is a firefighter too, or at least he had a firefighters license plate.

    This administration is killing the Chiefs.

    I hope Carl is feeling the pressure.
    http://arrowheadjunkies.com/pictures/PhotoShop/sig_pics/NFL_Players/kansas_city_chiefs/tyson.jackson/062009/tyson.jackson.500.png

  4. #4
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    i went to the faiders game and arrowhead didnt even seem the same for the hated faiders. thank you carl and hermmie.
    i can remember what a chief super bowl team looks like! ......

  5. #5
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    Good thread. Judging by the massive amount of empty seats that they kept showing on TV, I think that there are a lot of disenfranchised fans that are not going to games.

    Jamaal Charles. University of Texas.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by hermhater View Post
    I just went to the gas station for beer and talked to a season ticket holder from St. Louis and he felt the same way.

    I told him about the Crowd and he said he is gonna check it out when he gets home.

    The guy is a firefighter too, or at least he had a firefighters license plate.

    This administration is killing the Chiefs.

    I hope Carl is feeling the pressure.
    From the sound of it, Herm is considering part of rebuilding. He said it wasn't pleasant to the team or it's fans. Also that it would be worth it if we could just endure it. Little late. Most people have already given up.
    Everything happens for a reason.

  7. #7
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    Arrowhead is dying because our team is dead! Sorry nuthin but the facts. People get tired of going to a funneral every Sunday! RIP

  8. #8
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    I have been a season ticket holder for 4 years and I have to say that I agree with much of this article.

    People at the game are either:
    1 - bored
    2 - cheering for the other team
    3 - too drunk to care

    I admit that I am #1.
    So bored, in fact, that I donated all 4 of my tickets for today to a silent auction last week and they went for only $125 TOTAL - for FOUR tickets. So much for trying to help a good cause.

    We are seriously considering giving up our tickets next year, or at least splitting them with someone.

    It is crazy to spend that much when 20% of the cost of the season tickets goes to PRE-SEASON games.

    Thankfully we can donate them now and at least get a tax break! Otherwise, it is like every 5 years paying for a whole season we don't even go to! (do the math - its true)

    Are we considering giving them up because the Chiefs are struggling? Yes, that is part of it, but a BIG part of it is that is isn't a very "family-friendly" place to go anymore. My son, who is 5, wants to go to a game and there is NO WAY I'll take him out there to learn a barrage of 4 letter words and to watch drunk fan after drunk fan get carried out by cops.

    I get so pissed each week when I look around and see everyone looking away from the field to watch some drunk idiot fighting with another drunk idiot. Seriously, people, if you can't hold your liquor, don't drink! We are there to watch a GAME not WWF in the stands. grrrrrrrrrr

    We drive 3 hours each way to come watch the Chiefs... besides the 6 hours in the car and making arrangements for a baby sitter and coordinating where to stay and making sure that SOMEONE wants to go and sit in our extra 2 seats (oh and its a bonus if they actually want to PAY for their seats!) when we finally get there, it is BORING!

    It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.

    Yeah, Arrowhead needs a shot to the heart because, if I am feeling this way and I consider myself to be a very loyal fan, I can only imagine how the bandwagon fans are feeling right now.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by springchief View Post
    I have been a season ticket holder for 4 years and I have to say that I agree with much of this article.

    People at the game are either:
    1 - bored
    2 - cheering for the other team
    3 - too drunk to care

    I admit that I am #1.
    So bored, in fact, that I donated all 4 of my tickets for today to a silent auction last week and they went for only $125 TOTAL - for FOUR tickets. So much for trying to help a good cause.

    We are seriously considering giving up our tickets next year, or at least splitting them with someone.

    It is crazy to spend that much when 20% of the cost of the season tickets goes to PRE-SEASON games.

    Thankfully we can donate them now and at least get a tax break! Otherwise, it is like every 5 years paying for a whole season we don't even go to! (do the math - its true)

    Are we considering giving them up because the Chiefs are struggling? Yes, that is part of it, but a BIG part of it is that is isn't a very "family-friendly" place to go anymore. My son, who is 5, wants to go to a game and there is NO WAY I'll take him out there to learn a barrage of 4 letter words and to watch drunk fan after drunk fan get carried out by cops.

    I get so pissed each week when I look around and see everyone looking away from the field to watch some drunk idiot fighting with another drunk idiot. Seriously, people, if you can't hold your liquor, don't drink! We are there to watch a GAME not WWF in the stands. grrrrrrrrrr

    We drive 3 hours each way to come watch the Chiefs... besides the 6 hours in the car and making arrangements for a baby sitter and coordinating where to stay and making sure that SOMEONE wants to go and sit in our extra 2 seats (oh and its a bonus if they actually want to PAY for their seats!) when we finally get there, it is BORING!

    It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.

    Yeah, Arrowhead needs a shot to the heart because, if I am feeling this way and I consider myself to be a very loyal fan, I can only imagine how the bandwagon fans are feeling right now.
    I am willing to be a tax break for you! Just send me your tickets, I am a willing person of need.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by springchief View Post
    I have been a season ticket holder for 4 years and I have to say that I agree with much of this article.

    People at the game are either:
    1 - bored
    2 - cheering for the other team
    3 - too drunk to care

    I admit that I am #1.
    So bored, in fact, that I donated all 4 of my tickets for today to a silent auction last week and they went for only $125 TOTAL - for FOUR tickets. So much for trying to help a good cause.

    We are seriously considering giving up our tickets next year, or at least splitting them with someone.

    It is crazy to spend that much when 20% of the cost of the season tickets goes to PRE-SEASON games.

    Thankfully we can donate them now and at least get a tax break! Otherwise, it is like every 5 years paying for a whole season we don't even go to! (do the math - its true)

    Are we considering giving them up because the Chiefs are struggling? Yes, that is part of it, but a BIG part of it is that is isn't a very "family-friendly" place to go anymore. My son, who is 5, wants to go to a game and there is NO WAY I'll take him out there to learn a barrage of 4 letter words and to watch drunk fan after drunk fan get carried out by cops.

    I get so pissed each week when I look around and see everyone looking away from the field to watch some drunk idiot fighting with another drunk idiot. Seriously, people, if you can't hold your liquor, don't drink! We are there to watch a GAME not WWF in the stands. grrrrrrrrrr

    We drive 3 hours each way to come watch the Chiefs... besides the 6 hours in the car and making arrangements for a baby sitter and coordinating where to stay and making sure that SOMEONE wants to go and sit in our extra 2 seats (oh and its a bonus if they actually want to PAY for their seats!) when we finally get there, it is BORING!

    It just doesn't seem worth it anymore.

    Yeah, Arrowhead needs a shot to the heart because, if I am feeling this way and I consider myself to be a very loyal fan, I can only imagine how the bandwagon fans are feeling right now.
    I'm none of the above. I enjoy the games. We drive 2.5 hours each way, and we leave at 4:30 in the morning as to save on the hotel expense.

    Arrowhead needs a lot more heart. That's why you're willng to give up your season tickets?

    What section were you in? We saw a Charger fan getting drug out across the field from us today. We're in 122.
    Everything happens for a reason.

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