AM~Erica Will be Watching the NFL Draft: the DVR'd Special

So anyway...

Today.

Today is a big day.

Today is a big day for KC.

Today is the 1st round of the annual NFL Draft.

Today...Kansas City Chiefs have the #1 pick overall in that draft. FINALLY!

And, as my entire day has been turning upside-down & inside-out...it's taken me hours to get to this part in this post. And we are just under an hour until the draft begins...


Now then...today isn't going down as hoped...

It's about being a parent. Being a parent can throw some wrinkles into timing of things. Sometimes it thwarts our original plans all together. You know...kind of like MISSING COMIC-CON to be a parental unit instead.

Well...I am missing (again) meeting my kicker. That's right... Ryan Succop is the player I root for. Ever since the 2009 draft.

A. He was crowned that year's draft's "Mr. Irrelevant" (aka - the last player chosen); went to KC

2. He's a kicker

III. His last name is pronounced "suck-up"


Everything was against this poor guy. So I took it upon myself to be his fan. Someone needed to be rooting for him...and I decided it would be me. And this is while we were living in St. Louis. He may have been crowned "Mr. Irrelevant", but I crowned him as my very own Chiefs' player.

Well...he was making a couple of quick appearances at a couple of draft parties in town. Because of being a mommy on kiddo time...going to either of these was now out of play (sorry for the pun)

I barely missed him when we checked out Chiefs' training camp last year. I was so close to get my pic with him...in my very own Succop jersey...but it was the one day in the entire drought-like conditions that sent a storm a-brewin'...and the quick evacuation of the players before I could get to him. *sigh* figures.

Hard to see...but it's my #6 Succop jersey

Then...who schedules things around here during a BIG drafting moment? Oh...how about Lil Guy's very last football make up practice (irony?) & a meeting hubby had to be at. Go figure.

Yes...DURING the draft. What is wrong with this pic??? So much...that's what.

However...we are in an age where we can record, via DVR, and watch the event later. But I'm super bummed that we couldn't get to a party, or just watch live...or take in big festivities. Cuz it's an exciting time in KC right now, yo.

This week has had me in many different places:

1. A fine-dining/antioxidant-fortified Jesus water outing at OUR LOVE LOCK SPOT with great company

II. A poetry & music filled concert at the Kauffman Center, called Verses & Voices

C. Took in a night of the Young Playwright Festival at the Coterie Theater at Crown Center - in which Teen Girl is PART OF THE ROUND TABLE

#. I will be helping with costumes for Teen Girl's play next week

As you can see: I am having a very cultured week. I think my pinky finger may be permanently raised with so much culture taken in. I really NEEDED this sporting event!

Don't get me wrong...I love the cultured stuffs! LOVE IT!!! But there's gotta be some balance for me...

If you weren't aware, or might have forgotten, I REALLY LOVE FOOTBALL. Especially my Chiefs. It's totally my hubby's fault, too.

But we will have to enjoy this as a delayed special. And not until my hubby is home from his meeting.

And now as I start this part of the post, the draft has been going for 30 minutes. And we must wait...
TICK-TICK!

But it didn't stop me from dressing the part.

I will always show my support!

Even the Royals (who are doing very well so far) even pulled off an unbeliveable extra inning win in celebration of the great things in Kansas City! Amm-i-rite?

2013 is a good year for sports in KC. We can feel it!!

GO CHIEFS!!

So it looks like we will get to start watching the NFL Draft: DVR Special in about 1 hour delay. You know...for censorship...and stuffs. Amm-i-rite? *shrugs*

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

**** Oh...and because of kiddos getting cleaned up for the evening...it may be on an hour-&-a-half delay. Go figure in the Parenthood...*sigh* Tick-Tick...

***** OK...maybe only 1 hour & 15 minutes. Whatever...still behind. But gonna watch...GONNA WATCH!!!

AM~Erica Needs Faith in the Benchwarmer

So anyway...

BIG NEWS IN KC!

Whether you are excited for it or totally hate it, it's still big news...

There will be a change in the QB position on the Chiefs. It was thrown out there from pesky sports reporters hoping this story would stick, but it was made semi-official today that a trade would be made between KC & the San Fran 49ers.

That's right! One of the teams from THIS YEAR'S SUPER BOWL would actually trade their QB!!

*SCREEEEEEEEEEEEECH*

Hold on there a moment though...

We are trading our 2nd round pick (which is also the 1st pick in that round) for this year, plus a "conditional mid-round pick in 2014" for this guy! That's huge stakes, people!

So...we MUST be getting Kaepernick, right? This is SO exciting!! He did really well in the Super Bowl & went from a benchwarmer to a hero...plus...
...wait...
...WHAT???

It's not Kaepernick? Uh...no. We got the season starter for the 49ers: Alex Smith!

OK...now let me get this straight...
...
We are trading high-stake draft picks for a benchwarmer...to replace our now-highly-paid benchwarmer.

Meme courtesy NFL Memes

Hmmmmm...

It's been reported that this trade was happening, but the draft picks to be traded were speculated.

Now then...while Alex Smith started for the 49ers, he did fine! And apparently it had to do with the coaching that had come in. So Jim Harbaugh was a good thing for Smith. But somewhere in there, during the season that got them to the Super Bowl...Alex fell from the coach's favor & was placed upon the bench of shame...

In this very same year, we had a starter, too. But it became a very sad story. We Chiefs' Fans are a fickle bunch. But when you are used to being a force to be reckoned with...even in an off season...then you have a season where no one cares...it causes a stir, and people start looking for scapegoats.

Our named scapegoats were: GM Scott Pioli, Head Coach Romeo Crennel, and QB Matt Cassel.

The fans desperately wanted Pioli out & Cassel benched! Eventually, Crennel gave into the fans & benched our starter...who was, by now, beaten & broken. We ended up with Brady Quinn...who has a good arm, but not the vision or the accuracy...but it's what KC was asking for. Be careful what you ask for, amm-i-rite?

Non-Football Savvy Teen Girl happily with Brady Quinn. She loves him.
She could care less about talent level.

As soon as the ugly season ended...Crennel was gone...Pioli was gone...and a new regime was swiftly & excitedly put into place!

Now the fans were pushing for the QB situation to change RIGHT NOW! But it wasn't going to happen until OUR NEW HEAD COACH, ANDY REID (who I still can't believe we landed), and with OUR NEW GM, JOHN DORSEY (who was awesomely excited to get this job) could get acclimated with their new surroundings.

And...they were excited to be here! HERE!! For really-realz, yo! And I, for one, was terribly excited to land these guys! But we also knew that we would need to leave the rest up to them...like how the upcoming draft might be handled.

Even though the fans were dying to get a QB as the 1st pick in the draft (that I am hoping that's what Clark Hunt was pushing for), there just aren't any in this class talented enough to be that 1st pick. But I'm pretty sure we'll take one of them somewhere...since I have a feeling our "current starter", Quinn, will be making an exit. (Teen Girl will be so sad...)

** In my opinion...none of the QB's this year should be higher than 3rd round worthy...but that's just me **

Now then...John Dorsey has already made it clear that he would push for getting the best PLAYER out there available. Notice he didn't specify that he would be looking for any particular position...you put your stock into the best person there & work with them...whether to help your team or as leverage, I'm sure.

Now with all of that said...we come back to the Alex Smith situation. The Chiefs have decided to wager major draft picks for a talented benchwarmer. Awesome.

You know...in the 1st "official" roster change for the Reid-Dorsey team...they may have overshot it a bit...

And now that we have Alex Smith coming on board for such a high price...there's no way we will be keeping our high priced benchwarmer. We will need to release Matt Cassel.

I'm not gonna lie, y'all...I feel SO bad for Cassel. He does have talent, just not an elite QB. And with such a bad coaching run...he fell out of our grace on the field. And when he's released...who is gonna take him? We turned him into damaged goods. I say "we" as the fans. Did he help himself? No, not really...but we certainly did not support him either. So, I think he will have to be released into the wild.

Oh wait! I have a job for him! Let's push for him to be another analyst on ESPN! Amm-i-rite? You know it could happen.

Now then...as the NFL SCOUTING COMBINE winds down...it will be interesting to see what happens in the next few weeks.

Remember when I called this KC/SF deal "semi-offical"? It cannot be actually official until the NFL season is actually declared open. This will happen on March 12th. Then the officiality of the deal will take place.

Then it's countdown to Draft Day(s)! Wonder if we will take that Sandcastle...

On another quick note...I really like having the KC Chiefs as a lead sports story in a positive-type light. *shrugs*

GO CHIEFS!!

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS ~ It was pointed out that the last time we got a QB from SF was the last time we WON a playoff...back in 1993 with Joe Montana. Hmmm...hoping for history repeating itself...maybe not this year...but soon enough...??

Explosive News Shocks AM~Erica

So anyway...

Last night, at the end of a usual local 6:00 newscast, breaking news was happening right before our eyes. The station we were watching is right down the street from something so shocking in our area...and so sad.

The channel we were on was rocked (only slightly) by what was an apparent explosion somewhere close by. They sent news chopper helicopters to see what could be found out...and it wasn't hard to find.

Billowing black & gray smoke was rising above one area of the historic & famous Country Club Plaza. It is the oldest shopping area in the U.S. & contains most of the fountains of KC that puts only second to Rome in the number of fountains in the world. See? You learned a little something today...you're welcome.

Historic Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri

The famous JC Nichols fountain...one of the many fountains in & around the Plaza

Billowing smoke over the Plaza, seen from afar

One thing about the Plaza is that it is generally very upscale (or was in the past...it has slightly lessened in that status within the last few years). It still contains very upscale shopping, but is certainly known for the number of upper-scale eateries. It's kind of a big deal. This is the area of the famous Plaza Lights around the holiday time, and it also well known for the horse drawn carriage rides you can take around, like the one that HUBBY & I TOOK ON ONE OF OUR DATES.

Famous Plaza Lights of Kansas City

There are a lot of apartment areas on the outskirts of this historic landmark, but within it lies many, many businesses of all sorts. Mostly shopping & eating...but there are a few offices, salons & such that cater to a higher tax bracket.

So, around 6:30ish...the news team went live to what was going on somewhere on the Plaza. An explosion would be near unheard of around there...but the video being shown was horrifying & breathtaking all at once.

Not only was the thick, black, cottony-looking smoke rising so high up into the atmosphere...the bright orange glow from underneath was even more frightening. Eventually, it looked like gates to hell were opened, and the rise of the inferno-like flames was terrifying!

The anchors couldn't tell by the chopper angle as to where it might be actually coming from, but they kept repeating over & over that it looked like it was around the area of a longtime eating establishment, J.J.'s.

As the video feed from the chopper could draw a bit more nigh & get a better angle...it was, indeed, J.J.'s.

Even more heart breaking, even though this may not have been prevented, there were warning signs to at least have folks clear the area hours before this tragic event...

I'm going to tell you this story first. Seems unrelated, but stay with me...
A couple of weeks ago, my parents were telling me about smelling gas at their house, or outside. Be proud of me...or don't...that I fought off jumping on the fart/old fart jokes! It took a lot for me to do it, too...but I digress...
Apparently there was a natural gas leak somewhere in the neighborhood, and when they called the gas company, they were told it could take up to 6 months to fix...but...since it appeared to be a 95% leakage...someone would be out within a week.
Is that some of the craziest stuff you've ever heard? Well...turns out the leak was under the tree in my folks' front yard. They live in a cul de sac, and I cannot imagine what might have happened to those 6 houses that sit right around that circle if anything had ignited. I shudder to think about it.

There's a reason I covered tree & it's digestive issues...folks around the Plaza, and in that area, were smelling natural gas thru the day. To a worrisome level to some...but no evacuation. So everyone carried on about their business...

Reports came out that a car hit a restaurant, but there's no way a fire that big would have been caused by a car...unless it's Hollywood. But then it was said that it hit a nearby gas line. OK...makes more sense...but...

All of a sudden it came out that there was, indeed, an explosion. Construction had been happening across the street for 5 years...so there had been a lot of construction right there...like a backhoe was noticed.

What is known is that there was a gas leak. Someone had hit it underground...possibly. Not sure why it exploded, but we could see people stupid enough...and heard witnesses talking about...the person(s) smoking in the area! Are You Kidding Me?

I am NOT saying that it was the smoker(s) that caused this. Just take note. However...a historic building & a longtime running & establishment, favorited & frequented by many, was gone. IS gone. Gone.

Gas was smelled around 1:00 PM...no one was evacuated until sometime after 5:00...but...apparently that info wasn't given quickly enough...the explosion happened around 6:00 PM.

Now then...I'm not the biggest of conspiracy theorists...but I do wonder sometimes...
There were a couple of interviews done with random witnesses that really made the hubby & I wonder...
The first guy that struck us was a dude who was on the highway...saw smoke...and decided to make his way over to the site to watch a building burn. Uh...someone needs to keep that footage of that guy...he didn't have anything to do with this one, but he's someone who has done something or getting ready to. That was horribly bizarre.
The next guy that caused us to pay attention was a guy in his mid-20's to early 30's. He was interviewed & he said that he was an employee at J.J.'s, but had the day off/ he lived close by/ heard an explosion and "knew it was J.J.'s". Say what??? He also just happened to know that there wouldn't be very many people in the eatery at that moment. It was very weird. Keep that interview & his face! It may come in handy...

Now then, they also interviewed one of the co-owners of J.J.'s. I realize we probably didn't see the whole interview, but he didn't seem very overcome with emotion...but talked about how he & his family are resilient & would get thru this. It was so strange...

OK...now that we are past that line of thinking...Mayor Sly James made a point in a dull press conference that we are in the "People Phase". This is more concerned about finding everyone & making sure people are OK & taken care of. That right where it needs to be.

As it turns out, last night, there were very few people in the restaurant (just as the employee had pointed out, btw). They figured there were maybe 11-13 folks injured & getting medical attention. It was reported that there were 3 unaccounted for. In that time, they found 2 of those folks & got them some medical attention. They were still missing one.

Unbelievable to see the pictures of where this place once stood. And, now that the smoldering is quieted, cadaver dogs did find the remains of someone. It may be the person unaccounted for. Oh-so-sad.

A giant hole has been left in our metro area. A hole in KC; a hole on the Plaza; a whole in our hearts.

All that is left of JJ's

We need to pray & send comfort to these families of the injured, the family of the body found, the rescuers that fought very hard to keep things under control, and for the the restaurant owners & employees. I cannot imagine what it might have been like to have been in that area. The video & images are amazing, breathtaking, absolutely horrendous.

The reports of all the people in the area who smelled the gas, who felt the explosion, who saw the building, who ran to help, and who were evacuated from their homes or would not be allowed in their homes after work...we need to pray for them, too.

What. A. Shock.

But we should be thankful that it was not any busier...at 6:00 on any given evening. Still tragic.

Stay tuned...

God Bless, AM~Erica

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