Kansas City Chiefs: Marcus Peters proves his worth

There has been a lot of frustration for Kansas City Chiefs fans regarding Marcus Peters this year. However, at the end of the day, Peters means a lot to this Chiefs team.

When a team is losing, the fan base will often look for someone to blame. For many Kansas City Chiefs fans, that person has been Marcus Peters. A number of reasons have been given, but the truth is that fans often have a hard time relating to a football player with a strong personality that plays with a lot of emotion.

There is no denying that Marcus Peters has a very strong personality, or that he plays with a lot of emotion. When things are going well, Chiefs Kingdom loves that emotion. When things aren’t going well, they start referring to “maturity issues”. It’s not fair at all to Peters, but it is the nature of the beast.

However, the “solution” to the issue is simple: winning mends all wounds. The Chiefs have started winning again, and the fans are beginning to embrace Marcus Peters once again. Of course, there were many of us who never had a problem with Peters…but I suppose that’s a different discussion altogether.

https://twitter.com/PFF/status/942256504299819008

What A Game

The truth is that Marcus Peters has actually been one of the few bright spots for the Kansas City Chiefs this year. While he hasn’t had the big turnover numbers we have grown used to, Peters has been shutting down his half of the field. Fans love stats though. Fortunately, we got those stats this past weekend.

Marcus Peters lived up to his “Kansas City Thief” moniker on Saturday Night. The star corner was incredibly opportunistic, taking advantage of nearly every opportunity that came his way. When it was all said and done, Peters had two interceptions, a (shared) forced fumble, a pass deflection, and a huge, drive-killing, tackle.

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Coming off a team-imposed suspension last week, Marcus Peters delivered on why he is considered one of the best in the game. You really cannot overstate just how important his efforts were in shutting down Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense. However, the reaction from Chiefs fans on Twitter showed a clear change in how people were thinking about Peters.

Fans Pay, Athletes Play

Ultimately, the real issue between Kansas City Chiefs fans and Marcus Peters is that there is no real connection. We recognize him as the star cornerback of our favorite team, but most people don’t know much more about him. Peters has actually been very active in philanthropy for Chiefs Kingdom, but he doesn’t get recognized for it as he should.

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That plays into another major divide between players and fan base. Marcus Peters has been very outspoken about his stance on racial inequality and police brutality. Peters is one of the few players left in the NFL that still partakes in an anthem protest weekly. It doesn’t sit well with the largely white, conservative, mid-western crowd.

Does a player have the right to express his feelings? Yes. Do fans have the right to expect a certain product for the money they pay? Yes. Do those two things always work together? Not at all. However, we can often overlook that when the team is winning. When they’re not, well…things get complicated and allow tensions to build.

For now, things will be amicable between Chiefs Kingdom and Marcus Peters because the team is winning. Hopefully that keeps going.

Fans always have a complicated relationship with the players on he field. It’s not different for the Kansas City Chiefs. We have an image of what the professional athletes on our team are supposed to be like. We’re willing to overlook that when the team is winning. When they’re not, then things start to get edgy.