Tomorrow evening, the Chiefs play their in-state rival (not really much of a rivalry), the St. Louis Rams. Whenever these two teams meet, it's always a special occasion because the much coveted Governor's Cup hangs in the balance. Will it go to the established team whose roots are older and deeper or the newer franchise that found success early but has struggled as of late? Both teams are on the rise, one making the playoffs last season and one barely missing after a loss in the last game of the season. However, these thoughts are not the focal point of tomorrow night's game; the importance of tomorrow is shining a light on a city about 2.5 hours away from Kansas City and a little over 4 hours away from St. Louis.
That city is the one that I call home: Joplin. We are all aware that a F5 tornado touched down in Joplin back on May 22nd. Everyone heard the staggering death tolls, were told the amazing stories of heroism or the sad tales of devastation, and saw the carnage daily on their television. What many people don't realize is that it doesn't look much better. The debris has only recently been completely removed but rebuilding is still a future project that has yet to be started.
Both the Chiefs and Rams (and the Colts but they are irrelevant for this post) donated money, supplies, and time for the rebuilding of Joplin in the wake of the tornado. And much like the Royals and Cardinals commemorated their inter-league series to the rebuilding of Joplin (and at all the Royals games I've been to since then they are still creating awareness and asking for donations so good job), the Chiefs and Rams are taking this preseason opportunity to shine a light on a city that needs all the help it can get.
So thank you, to both the Chiefs and the Rams.
Now that I've addressed that issue, let me talk some football. These two teams met last year in the regular season, the Chiefs winning it 27-13. You might remember the game for something other than a win; it was the first game that Matt Cassel played in after his appendectomy and probably sealed the deal for Cassel in the eyes of the fans.
Also, if you weren't following my blog back then, there was a bit of a controversy leading up to the game. I'll let this link fill you in on what was going on.
Governor Cup aside, I'm more interested to see what the Chiefs starters can do. We know they looked good the last time these two teams met, but I want a break out performance by these guys. Our starters haven't scored a touchdown all season, something that not many other teams in the NFL can say this preseason. I know preseason doesn't matter, but I still want to see something that instills confidence in our offense before the start of the regular season against the Bills on September 11th.
And if you're interested in the Governor Cup standings, the Chiefs are 5-0 against the Rams in the regular season but only 5-6 in preseason games, the last preseason game being a 17-9 loss in St. Louis back in 2009.
This year, we will be going against the rookie sensation Sam Bradford, who seems to be the franchise quarterback (I guess that's what you would call him, I've never seen one myself ....) the Rams have been looking for to revitalize their franchise. The Rams also have one of the youngest and most talented defenses in the NFL, finishing 7th last year in sacks.
Is there a reason to be concerned as a Chief fan? Sure, but if this guy can win us a Governor's Cup, then I'm not too concerned that the Cup will be leaving Kansas City.
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