I confess that I\u2019m getting a slow start to my Monday. I can always tell how much energy my previous week required by how much of an early start I am able to get on Monday. Self-awareness has never been my strong suit, and the ability to admit to myself that I\u2019m tired and need to just take some time to recover is still not something that comes naturally to me. I usually try to dig deep, which is seldom, if ever, a really good idea.<\/p>\n
I confess that our family went to the Chiefs preseason game last Friday and it was really fun. You can watch the NFL on TV every week, but until you see in person just how big and fast these guys are, it\u2019s hard to appreciate. How any of them will be able to stand upright at the age of 50 I have no idea. I know people were disappointed with Alex Smith\u2019s performance, but I think the Chiefs offense is really close. I also don\u2019t think they were prepared for SF to blitz on nearly every down \u2013 which is generally not a part of the preseason routine. Harbaugh\u2026 he is the guy you love if he\u2019s your coach, but everybody else pretty much loves to hate.<\/p>\n
I confess that I learned a little bit about Chiefs fan culture on Friday night. It was preseason, so I really didn\u2019t think it would be that rowdy, and by and large everybody was pretty chilled out. However, the two extremely drunk men behind us did not get that memo. They were the only people in our section who were really, really<\/em> into the game. The problem was that they were quite drunk, so they had lost all inhibitions. For instance, I\u2019m not sure 2nd and 8 in is the right time to yell \u201cstand up and f%#&ing yell\u2026 It\u2019s a Chiefs game!\u201d When he finally became too drunk to stand, my new friend sat leaning forward yelling for the defense about three inches from my right ear. Every time somebody gave him a disapproving look, flinched after a particularly loud F-bomb, or asked him to chill out as I did twice, he\u2019d yell, \u201cIt\u2019s a Chiefs game.\u201d\u00a0On the bright side, my kids learned some new words.<\/p>\n After the third \u201cGod-D-it,\u201d yelled right in my youngest son\u2019s ear even the equally drunk wing-man told our guy to knock it off. Instead of saying, \u201csorry,\u201d he yelled, \u201cI don\u2019t give a sh*$, it\u2019s a F#$&ing Chiefs game!\u201d My boys eyes were as big as saucers. Personally, I was just glad he was getting the words in the proper order \u2013 after all I want my kids to be able to cuss properly when they grow up.<\/p>\n Later on, while we were standing in line at the concessions, a middle-aged man with a serious beard and a leather Fedora with a feather in the bill whistled the loudest whistle I\u2019ve ever heard in response to what was a routine tackle after a five yard gain. Literally 50 people spun around to look at him, including a 3 year old girl who began to wag her finger at him. He seemed a bit taken aback by the reaction, staggered briefly, and offered a quick excuse\u2026 you guessed it: \u201cWhat? It\u2019s a Chiefs game!\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s when it hit me. This could be a powerful revelation. \u201cIt\u2019s a Chiefs game,\u201d seems to be some sort of \u00a0carte blanche<\/em> excuse for behaving badly. Does this transfer to the rest of life? When my wife asks me to remember to send an email and I forget, can I \u00a0just say, \u201cIt\u2019s a Chiefs game!\u201d? Next time I lose my temper I\u2019ve got my ready made excuse: \u201cIt\u2019s a Chiefs game!\u201d\u00a0I\u2019m trying this when I get my next traffic ticket: \u201cC\u2019mon officer! It\u2019s a Chief\u2019s game!\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily drunk guy and wing-man disappeared by the 2nd half and we had an incredible time watching some young players fight for a spot on the roster. We saw two 55 yard field goals, and an awesome Chiefs interception happened right in front of us. The announcer let us know that the Royals completed a sweep of a double-header with the Tigers. The temperature was nearly fall-like, and I sat there with the three people in the world who matter most to me, laughing, pointing out interesting things, cheering good plays, eating caramel-corn and nachos, and thinking how grateful I am to be a \u00a0part of this family. It was deep-down good.<\/p>\n I confess that I started David McCullough\u2019s biography of Truman last week, and now I\u2019m obsessed with this book. I confess that I told myself that I was not going to start any new books until I finished the manuscript I\u2019m working on, but I couldn\u2019t resist. I\u2019m learning a ton about the history of Kansas City politics, and the Pendergast machine. I\u2019m also learning that Truman was extremely concerned about income inequality, and was convinced that it was the reason for the Great Depression.<\/p>\n I confess that I have stopped exercising quite as regularly as I have for the past few years. I\u2019ve also been riding my bike a bit more than running. I\u2019m giving myself permission to work straight through until dinner on days that I\u2019m being particularly productive. I figure a few days missing here and there won\u2019t have a huge overall impact. My goal is to make my writing deadlines and then crank up the mileage again when the weather gets cold.<\/p>\n I confess that I have finally learned to love it when people sit by themselves at a coffee shop engrossed in a phone conversation via a bluetooth devise. It just looks like they are talking to themselves. It\u2019s happening to me right now as I\u2019m writing this entry, and the woman having the conversation has the blue tooth in her far ear, so I can\u2019t see it. \u00a0She\u2019s laughing and talking and shaking her head. I\u2019m pretending that she\u2019s totally insane. I love this.<\/p>\n I confess that I read some Buechner last week for the first time in months. He\u2019s got to be one of my all-time favorites.<\/p>\n Okay friends, I\u2019ve made my confession. Now it\u2019s time for you to make yours!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I confess that I\u2019m getting a slow start to my Monday. I can always tell how much energy my previous week required by how much of an early start I am able to get on Monday. Self-awareness has never been my strong suit, and the ability to admit to myself that I\u2019m tired and need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[756,4,757],"class_list":["post-2258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chiefs","tag-monday-morning-confessional","tag-royals"],"yoast_head":"\n