This wasn't quite a "do you remember where you were when you heard about..." moment. Those moments are reserved for death's of world leaders, catastrophic events, and Tiger on Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Open.
For Chief's fans this was our 'Tiger 12-foot birdie putt on 18' moment, this was our 'David Tyree catch', this was our 'the hot girl that is way out of your league said yes' moment.
It's crazy how one trade made every single snide remark made by your buddies about your team, fade into the background. Every comment about how "Tracy McGrady thinks Brodie Croyle gets hurt a lot", about how the "The best football team in Missouri is in Columbia", about how "the only thing worse than the Chief's defense is ......the Chiefs" and every other comment your friends threw at you for two years straight just faded away.
This trade left Chief's fans with the first thing to smile about since Joe Montana went 1 touchdown away from taking the Chiefs to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs organization finally gave us, the fan, something in-return for having to 'stomach' 6 wins over the past two years.
I know this trade could backfire. The cons are Cassel has only played one year in the NFL. He had arguably the best coach in the NFL and had much better talent surrounding him, now he has very little talent around him. He has been a career backup even in college level up until an injury took Tom Brady out (coincidently caused by the Chiefs).
However, the pros are Cassel is only 26 years old. He won 11 games in his first season. He threw for 26 TD's and only 11 interceptions, all with a minimal running game. Most importantly, the Chiefs only gave up a second round pick for both Cassel and
Vrabel.
A second round pick is a steal for what is believed to be the franchise quarterback and a starting linebacker who will bring leadership, championship experience, and a strong work ethic to the lockeroom. All of which are much needed after a half the team has told the media they want to jump-ship.
This will be the first time, since i've been alive, where the Chiefs have gone after a frachise quarterback early in his career. The Chiefs still have the youngest team in the NFL, and have a bright future. For the first time in a long time, the Chiefs are making news. The Chiefs future isn't a question mark. Scott Pioli has done more in less than month than Carl Peterson has done in over a decade. Life as a Chief's fan has finally become something you don't have to constantly explain and defend.
As far as where I was when I heard about the franchise changing news....at the gym. I will never forget this. Here I am playing basketball, on the court when my wife came running onto the court from the treadmill room. She had a grin on her face, so I knew right away nobody had died. She came onto the court and said "The Chiefs got Matt Cassel." Of course, I stopped what I was doing and ran to the TV and sure enough, ESPN had announced it with no details yet. I just sat there standing in the middle of the weight room grinning like an idiot. All I could think about was whether or not I was more happy that the Chiefs got Cassel or was it because I have a wife that recognizes the importance of this trade and stopped what she was doing to break the news in the middle of the basketball court.
Either way, for me life is good.