Chiefs Safety Tyrann Mathieu gives away 320 Thanksgiving turkeys to local families in need at True Faith Outreach Ministries. Photo Twitter.
‘Tis the season to be thankful for this sports town!
By Sam Kombrink
I would first off like to wish all Martin City Telegraph readers a Happy Holidays, and I hope that you have an eventful and unforgetful Thanksgiving.
This year I am thankful again for the success of the Kansas City Chiefs. I am also thankful for all of the success we had with local football throughout our community, starting with Avila University which finished with a record of (7-3) for the second season in a row under head coach Marc Benavidez.
As for local high school football, legendary KC football coach Tony Severino coached his team to a 7-4 record in his final season at Rockhurst High School. And the Center Yellow Jackets coached by Brian Delong ended their season with a winning record of 10-2 as well.
The Chiefs currently have a bye week to spend time with loved ones before the rival Oakland Raiders come to Arrowhead. Oakland is trying to contend for a wildcard spot so it should be a good one. I would also like to say that this bye is long overdue. Now Mahomes can take some more time to get to 100 percent health. Ever since Mahomes has come back from his injury he has looked more like Alex Smith. I think with the bye week, Mahomes will be ready to step up his game and return to that 2018 form right in time for the postseason. Let us not forget the words of Chiefs Owner Clark Hunt, who gave a legendary speech at training camp this summer.
“ I’ve been in my role for about 12 and a half years and I’ve never seen the excitement about a Chiefs season like I’m seeing right now. The Chiefs Kingdom is fired up and they should be because we have a special year in front of us. In terms of our goals, it’s pretty simple. It starts with winning the AFC Championship. We were inches from getting that done last year. It was the first time we had hosted the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium, and those of you who are on the team know how that turned out. But this team can get back there, and when we do, we’re going to win that trophy. That trophy has my dad’s name on it, something that is very important to the organization. Once we do that, then we’re going to go to Miami, and we’re going to win the Lombardi Trophy. Anything less is not going to be a success.”
I think the Chiefs will get hot at the right time, and will continue winning all the way throughout the postseason. One way to get Mahomes back to himself is finding ways to get the ball to rookie wide receiver Mecole Hardman. According to Pro Football Reference, Hardman currently leads all of the NFL wide receivers in Yards After Catch (YAC) with 12.2 YAC, well ahead of Marquise Brown (7.2) and Cooper Kupp (7.0).
Chiefs players Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu have been busy giving back to the community. Thursday, November 21st, was a busy day to say the least for Chiefs Safety Mathieu. His fiancé Sydni gave birth to a baby daughter earlier in the day before he was able to feed 320 Kansas City families through his Thanksgiving event. Mathieu also attended Patrick’s “15 and the Mahomies Foundation,” which was started in April to help support playgrounds for all kids regardless of mental or physical disabilities. Mahomes raised over $600,000 with his foundation gala and on his Sunday off, he helped 65 volunteers build small homes for military veterans at the Veterans Community Project at 89th and Troost.
Enjoy the food and the football, but most importantly enjoy the time spent with friends and family. Happy Thanksgiving South KC!