Know Your Knights: Clayton

It occurred to me a week or so ago that I never really formally introduced any of the staff that is contributing content to KC Kingdom. They are the knights of this site’s round table and a big part of the community we’re working to build. With that in mind I thought it would be beneficial to provide some information about each of them. To facilitate this process I came up with eight incredibly unimaginative questions and posed them to the staff (and answered them myself).

KC Wolf performs before a game. (Photo Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports)

Next up we have the third of our new Chiefs writers, Clayton Whitworth.

How did you become a fan of the team you’re covering?

I grew up in Blue Springs, MO and lived in the same house until I went off to college. My house was ten minutes away from Arrowhead Stadium. My dad grew up in Independence, MO, which was also about ten minutes from Arrowhead. I have three brothers and I can remember us all sitting in our living room in our Chiefs jerseys (I had Derrick Thomas), with the volume loud watching our Chiefs. After every game, we would have a neighborhood football game in our backyard where we would ‘be’ our favorite Chiefs players. My father, a die-hard fan, wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Where did you grow up and where do you currently live?

I grew up in Blue Springs, MO (see above). I recently graduated from college and am in the process of finding a job so I live with my parents in Hartsburg, MO, which is directly between Jefferson City and Columbia.

What is your college/educational background?

I have a BS in Business Management from Northwest Missouri State University. I graduated high school in 2007 from Blue Springs HS.

What do you do for a living?

I am currently looking to start my career and just graduated December 14th.

What is your family situation (wife, kids, etc.)?

I have a girlfriend of five years. No kids, but we have a dog.

What do you like to do for fun (sports related or otherwise)?

In high school I played four years of basketball, four years of baseball, and four years of football at Blue Springs
HS. In college I won intramurals in softball, basketball, and football. I enjoy playing pick up basketball and football and my friends and I are looking to get into a rec men’s league for basketball this winter. I am an avid fantasy
football player. However, last year I drafted the entire Chiefs team and only won about three games. I love watching movies, but most of my hobbies revolve around sports.

What is your favorite sports moment or memory?

My senior year of high school my basketball team was completely undersized so I had to play center (I was 6’2” on the roster). This may not sound out of the ordinary to most people but we werein  the highest class in Missouri so I had to play against players like George Goode (Louisville), Jared Cole (Iowa), and even teams had guards bigger than me such as Rockhurst (Conner Teehan, KU). Anyways, we were playing our cross-town rivals, Blue Springs South, and we were down two points with 0.6 seconds left in regulation with our ball underneath our basket. I hit a game winning three pointer at the buzzer with a packed gym. I had 26 points and our fans rushed the floor at their place.

Also winning the state championship in baseball my senior year.

What are your least favorite team(s) and why?

There is no question about it, I am a Raider-hater and I will be until the day I die. I cannot stand the Oakland Raiders and I hate every player or coach who has any association with them what-so-ever. I was extremely mad when Pioli let Brandon Carr walk and picked up the black and silver stained Stanford Routt to try and replace him. It doesn’t matter if I like a player (Carson Palmer). If they go to the Raiders, they automatically become my least favorite player in the NFL. My favorite Raiders player of all time is Jamarcus Russel because he was so bad and a waste of a first overall pick. I also hate the Broncos and the Chargers but not as much as the Black and Silver.