ESPN vs Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs

I didn't think it was a big deal yesterday, but apparently ESPN decided to make this into the biggest story of the week.

First let me address the four possibilities of why the crowd may have cheered after that play:

1) They were excited about a first down in a close game.
2) They were trying to pump up Brady. (I know his last name is Quinn, but I feel better calling him Brady. Positive associations.)
3) They didn't want Cassel to be hurt, but they wanted him benched. They were happy that one way or another, a QB change was coming.
4) They were made at Cassel for performing consistently poor over his career in KC and were glad that he got hurt.

So let's go deeper.

1) This was probably everyone at first, but then they realized what happened. This doesn't explain the duration of the cheering or the shouts of Bra-dy, Bra-dy.
2) This is unlikely and not the right time while your starter is down. I doubt many were thinking this way.
3) I don't have a problem with this. This is not a cheer for an injury. This is a cheer for a change in personnel, the same way a crowd might cheer a new pitcher coming into a game.
4) I seriously doubt there were more than a handful of idiots thinking this.

- - -

To me this is not a big deal. If not for a questionable McCluster penalty call, Brady to Bowe would have taken the lead late in the game. The fans had a right to be excited about the QB change.

So I'm pretty surprised when I load up ESPN.com and see an article from Snoop Jackson on the homepage. Seriously? Snoop Jackson? I thought he got shitcanned years ago.

The title: Fear and self-loathing in Kansas City

Quotes from the article: "So here we are, America. Facing the truth of our internal hate; facing the depths of how low we can go." "Cassel and the rest of the Chiefs found out that loyalty between players and fans can sometimes be a one-way street."

WHAT THE FUCK.

For lifetimes, the loyalty between teams and fans has been a one-way street. When teams can abandon cities over money and stadium upgrades and leagues will lockout canceling games, knowing the fans will come crawling back.

And yes, he said between players and fans. But the reality is that players come and go. They get traded. They leave as free agents. They retire. They get hurt and can't play anymore.

So fans have to be loyal to the team. But they're also loyal to the players because they're loyal to the team. I'm still happy for Tony Gonzalez, knowing how much he gave to this team.

The idea that players are more loyal to fans than the other way around is ludicrous.