Three things Kansas City Chiefs fans should be thankful for in 2020

Sports

Finally, I saved the best for last. Since March 2020, the only certainty that we could count on is uncertainty. It seems that every day brings new issues, new struggles, and new worries for everyone regardless of religion, race, or political views, but for a time, it seemed not only possible but likely that we would not have sports to serve as a distraction and as a comfort.

Indeed sports have had to make some major adjustments to these times of uncertainty and trepidation we now find ourselves in, but they have adjusted, done what needed to be done, and now despite everything we still have sports. The sports landscape is not perfect. Teams have struggled with outbreaks, games have had to be postponed, delayed, or even canceled, but everyone has adapted and made it work all across the four major sports.

Obviously, sports are not going to heal all that is wrong in the world, but as I stated before, it does offer up a pleasant distraction, something that feels familiar and comforting, something to follow aside from the rivers of bad news that we are inundated with on a daily bases. As a people, we need something to get excited about, something to rally behind, even if it is something trivial and sports has always done that for us and it is doing it now as I write this piece.

When the MLB season started back up in July, when the NBA picked back up where it left off in its bubble environment and when our beloved Chiefs opened a 2020 season against the Texans — a season that was highly in doubt — those are some of the only days I can remember in recent memory where everyone was unanimously happy and joyful.

On those days there was less talk about the struggles facing the country right now, and more talk of which team would make it to the World Series, will the Royals be any better at all this year and how many touchdowns will Mahomes throw, and will the Chiefs repeat as Super Bowl champs.

Please don’t misunderstand me, in no way whatsoever am I saying that since we have sports back, all the other extremely serious issues that face our country and our world are all the sudden not as important, because that is of course completely untrue. All I am saying is that these problems are probably not going away anytime soon, but I feel they are at least easier to handle and cope with sports by our side.

All I am saying is that isn’t it nice to know that after you have battled through a day in the year 2020 and possibly the years to come, and after you have made it through another week, that you can turn on the TV and watch the Chiefs find new ways to dispatch their opponents. We need sports, now more than ever. We need the distraction, the familiarity, the comfort that sports brings.

We need it as a symbol that we can all agree on and all get behind, and that is why I am so very thankful that in these times of difficulty and uncertainty, that while sports may not be a certainty, it is here right now, and I am very thankful for that.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. It has been a hard year, but we all still have things to be thankful for. So count your blessings, spend time with your loved ones (even if it is over Zoom) remember those things that you are thankful for, and be thankful that you can sit back on Thanksgiving, turn on the TV and watch the game.