Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Locker-room game unifying Chiefs
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Todd Haley's team was floundering. The Kansas City Chiefs hadn't won a game, and even though players insisted morale was fine, it was awfully hard to believe them.
Their coach got to thinking about ways to loosen them up, something that might create some team unity. His mind drifted to summer vacations along the beach in Ocean City, Md., and a simple game played at just about every bar and beloved patriot-tonk along the boardwalk.
It's called "cornhole," or "bags," depending on where you live.
The premise is simple: Two pieces of lumber are situated exactly 33 feet apart, with a hole drilled in each, and players try to lob four bean bags through the hole. You get three points for making it and one for landing the bag on the board, and the player with the most points wins.
"We bought one at an auction this summer for a kid who was in an accident, and it was just painted up really nice, it had the name of the place we go to eat all the time," Haley said. "So when I started thinking about this, I called my wife. She called the people who owned the place and said, 'Can we get one that says Chiefs?' He had it here like, three days later.
"We've been trying to figure out ways to create some togetherness," Haley said. "It's been great, another way to keep guys hanging around and interacting with each other."
Must be working, too.
Ever since the white playing boards with the Chiefs' logo showed up in the locker room, on the carpet right smack in the middle of it, Kansas City hasn't lost a game. True, the two wins were against struggling teams in Minnesota and Indianapolis, but that doesn't change the fact that the mood has changed dramatically the past couple of weeks as the Chiefs head into their bye week.
Tension is gone. Chins are held higher. Smiles flow a little more freely.
The defending AFC West champions lost their first two games by a combined 89-10, one of the most dismal starts the league has ever seen. But despite losing a constellation of star players to season-ending injuries, the Chiefs once again are playing with some swagger.
It's the same swagger that's showing up in the locker room after every practice.
That's when the competitive juices really start flowing.
"When you want to beat the best, you come see me," said defensive back Travis Daniels, who has quite the cornhole rivalry going with wide receiver Steve Breaston.
"It's all in how you throw it. I sort of short-stroke it and it pops up there," rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin said. "We've been playing a few weeks now and we're getting pretty good at it."
