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KC covets a win, not the trophy
Chiefs not sure about Governor’s Cup, but they want to beat Rams.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
The most precious piece of metal in Missouri this week sits on the edge of the counter in the lobby at Arrowhead Stadium, next to a potted plant, a miniature flag and some fliers for Tony Gonzalez’s football camp.
There’s smudge marks on the front from a very large set of mitts. But this thing is important, because it represents state pride, Show-Me superiority, and 10 months of bragging rights.
Now if only somebody knew what the Governor’s Cup was …
“I thought we were talking about golf,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards cracked Thursday after practice.
“It’s a big cup. I know it was sitting out front. I don’t understand it. At first, it was brought to my attention that it was done in the preseason. Is it done in the regular season, too? Do we have the cup? OK then, we’ve got to try to keep the cup.”
When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, Mark Messier skated around the ice as a fan held up a sign that said, “Now I can die in peace.” When the Chiefs travel to St. Louis this weekend for the Governor’s Cup game, the question might be, “Now who gets this thing?”
As of Thursday, various parties in Kansas City, St. Louis and even the governor’s office were confused as to whether the cup was supposed to change hands twice in one season. The Chiefs and Rams normally play one preseason game, with the winner getting the traveling trophy. This year, the schedule pitted the AFC West vs. the NFC West, meaning the instate rivals would get a rematch.
The Chiefs said Thursday that yes, the cup will be exchanged again Sunday.
“It’s probably one of the most misunderstood trophies in sports,” said Phil Thomas, the Rams’ vice president for marketing and sales. “We play irregularly. Nine times out of 10, it’s in the preseason.
“But I can tell you from our experience here, as soon as Kansas City is on our schedule, it’s the most requested game we get. I think we could’ve sold 10,000 more tickets. When the two teams meet, it means a lot to the people in the state.”
Thomas, who used to work for the Chiefs, knows it means a lot to Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt.
Competitive to the core, Hunt proudly talks about the old Chiefs-Cardinals rivalry and how Kansas City used to dominate. He remembers the news conference the governor had for the first cup in Jefferson City in the late 1960s. He thinks it’s good for the state to have an AFC and NFC team.
Hunt, one of the founders of the AFL, still tracks how the AFC does against the NFC every season.
“Anything to have a competition,” Hunt said. “We’d rather beat St. Louis. They are more important for us to beat than, say, the 49ers. I think that a city rivalry comes from it. I’m sure the Royals feel the same way baseballwise.”
Most years, the governor presents the trophy to the winning team in the moments after the victory. Gov. Matt Blunt won’t be there on Sunday because he has a previous commitment. So the lieutenant governor will deliver the cup, which Kansas City currently owns because of its 16-12 preseason win.
“This is a great rivalry,” Blunt said Thursday.
His press secretary, Jessica Robinson, declined to say who the governor would be rooting for Sunday. Like a father who loves all his children, Blunt apparently is staying neutral. But Robinson expected him to be calling periodically to check the score.
“He likes to see Missouri teams win,” she said. “And this is a good game for that because a Missouri team is definitely going to win.”
Sunday represents a pivotal game for both teams. They’re 4-3, have playoff aspirations and face road trips next weekend. Win Sunday, and the Chiefs could be in prime position at the halfway point despite the fact that they’ve played without their starting quarterback and Hall of Fame left tackle.
“I really couldn’t care less about the Governor’s Cup other than the fact that we win the game,” veteran defensive end Eric Hicks said. “No disrespect to the governor, but we’re just trying to win the game. I don’t even know who goes around and accepts the trophy. I can’t say as I’ve ever touched the Governor’s Cup.
“We need the win. State pride is more of a matter of college football. Professional teams are all the same. I don’t think we have any more or less animosity for them.”
But the state will be watching throughout the 243-mile stretch from One Rams Way to One Arrowhead Drive. And at the self-proclaimed midway spot between St. Louis and Kansas City on I-70, they’ll be selling Rams and Chiefs hats Sunday at the Midway Travel Plaza and Expo Center.
General manager Joe Bechtold usually sees a 50-50 split between the red and the blue and gold, but he’s a Chiefs fan in the fall and a Cardinals fan in the summer. He has a good feeling that Sunday, the cup will be back in Kansas City.
Actually, he has no feeling about the cup.
“I had no idea what that is,” he said. “My first thought was that it was some kind of horse race.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15916096.htm
Chiefs not sure about Governor’s Cup, but they want to beat Rams.
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
The most precious piece of metal in Missouri this week sits on the edge of the counter in the lobby at Arrowhead Stadium, next to a potted plant, a miniature flag and some fliers for Tony Gonzalez’s football camp.
There’s smudge marks on the front from a very large set of mitts. But this thing is important, because it represents state pride, Show-Me superiority, and 10 months of bragging rights.
Now if only somebody knew what the Governor’s Cup was …
“I thought we were talking about golf,” Chiefs coach Herm Edwards cracked Thursday after practice.
“It’s a big cup. I know it was sitting out front. I don’t understand it. At first, it was brought to my attention that it was done in the preseason. Is it done in the regular season, too? Do we have the cup? OK then, we’ve got to try to keep the cup.”
When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, Mark Messier skated around the ice as a fan held up a sign that said, “Now I can die in peace.” When the Chiefs travel to St. Louis this weekend for the Governor’s Cup game, the question might be, “Now who gets this thing?”
As of Thursday, various parties in Kansas City, St. Louis and even the governor’s office were confused as to whether the cup was supposed to change hands twice in one season. The Chiefs and Rams normally play one preseason game, with the winner getting the traveling trophy. This year, the schedule pitted the AFC West vs. the NFC West, meaning the instate rivals would get a rematch.
The Chiefs said Thursday that yes, the cup will be exchanged again Sunday.
“It’s probably one of the most misunderstood trophies in sports,” said Phil Thomas, the Rams’ vice president for marketing and sales. “We play irregularly. Nine times out of 10, it’s in the preseason.
“But I can tell you from our experience here, as soon as Kansas City is on our schedule, it’s the most requested game we get. I think we could’ve sold 10,000 more tickets. When the two teams meet, it means a lot to the people in the state.”
Thomas, who used to work for the Chiefs, knows it means a lot to Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt.
Competitive to the core, Hunt proudly talks about the old Chiefs-Cardinals rivalry and how Kansas City used to dominate. He remembers the news conference the governor had for the first cup in Jefferson City in the late 1960s. He thinks it’s good for the state to have an AFC and NFC team.
Hunt, one of the founders of the AFL, still tracks how the AFC does against the NFC every season.
“Anything to have a competition,” Hunt said. “We’d rather beat St. Louis. They are more important for us to beat than, say, the 49ers. I think that a city rivalry comes from it. I’m sure the Royals feel the same way baseballwise.”
Most years, the governor presents the trophy to the winning team in the moments after the victory. Gov. Matt Blunt won’t be there on Sunday because he has a previous commitment. So the lieutenant governor will deliver the cup, which Kansas City currently owns because of its 16-12 preseason win.
“This is a great rivalry,” Blunt said Thursday.
His press secretary, Jessica Robinson, declined to say who the governor would be rooting for Sunday. Like a father who loves all his children, Blunt apparently is staying neutral. But Robinson expected him to be calling periodically to check the score.
“He likes to see Missouri teams win,” she said. “And this is a good game for that because a Missouri team is definitely going to win.”
Sunday represents a pivotal game for both teams. They’re 4-3, have playoff aspirations and face road trips next weekend. Win Sunday, and the Chiefs could be in prime position at the halfway point despite the fact that they’ve played without their starting quarterback and Hall of Fame left tackle.
“I really couldn’t care less about the Governor’s Cup other than the fact that we win the game,” veteran defensive end Eric Hicks said. “No disrespect to the governor, but we’re just trying to win the game. I don’t even know who goes around and accepts the trophy. I can’t say as I’ve ever touched the Governor’s Cup.
“We need the win. State pride is more of a matter of college football. Professional teams are all the same. I don’t think we have any more or less animosity for them.”
But the state will be watching throughout the 243-mile stretch from One Rams Way to One Arrowhead Drive. And at the self-proclaimed midway spot between St. Louis and Kansas City on I-70, they’ll be selling Rams and Chiefs hats Sunday at the Midway Travel Plaza and Expo Center.
General manager Joe Bechtold usually sees a 50-50 split between the red and the blue and gold, but he’s a Chiefs fan in the fall and a Cardinals fan in the summer. He has a good feeling that Sunday, the cup will be back in Kansas City.
Actually, he has no feeling about the cup.
“I had no idea what that is,” he said. “My first thought was that it was some kind of horse race.”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15916096.htm