Bleeding Red and Gold Since 1997

How did I become a Chiefs fan? I still remember. Me and a few of my best friends were sitting around playing a brand new video game my mom had got us. Madden 1997. It was on the game boy, so we had to take turns.

We all picked teams and had to play against one separate team. Whoever had the highest score beat everyone else. I had three childhood friends that are still my best friends as of today: Rudy Collins, Alex Davis and Robert Acevedo. My brother, Adam, was also in the competition.

Well, Rudy grabbed the Vikings, Alex grabbed the Falcons, Robert grabbed the Rams and Adam grabbed the Chargers. I was only six years old, and what six-year-old knows football? I knew who the 49ers were and who the Cowboys were. Apart from them I was completely out in the blue.

I knew a few names here and there, so I went with the only name I knew that had a team—Derrick Thomas and the Kansas City Chiefs. I put up 42 points on America’s team, the Cowboys, and won the tournament.

Something strange happened that day. I fell in love with football. I fell in love with a team. I began to bleed red and gold. Every Sunday I would be in the living room watching football. I didn’t get the Chiefs games that often, but when I did, it was always a big deal. I would yell for my mom to make my baby sisters stop crying. I would ignore my homework.

Something even more strange has happened in the world I live in today. I graduated high school and began college. My parents divorced. But overall, the Kansas City Chiefs have stayed the same. Same red and gold. Same prestigious stadium. Same legacy that hasn’t changed in the 49 years that the team has been around. I felt like I was actually part of something great.

I still beat my friends in Madden on a weekly basis. Football is one of the only things that will remain stable in my life, I’m almost certain. I’ll always bleed red and gold.