My Tribute to #58

Today is the day when the NFL Hall of Fame finally, after five years, allows one of the greatest linebackers to ever put on the pads and suit up into Canton, Ohio. I’m talking about the late Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City, Chiefs. Later today, he will be enshrined with five other great NFL players in the Hall of Fame (Bruce Smith being one of them; the fact that he is the all-time NFL career sack leader as a 3-4 defensive end still blows my mind, their job is to fill gaps so the linebackers can make the plays).

Never in my life has there ever been on professional sports athlete to so captivate me that to this day, nearly ten years after his passing, his sport is far and away my favorite sport. During the 1990s I always wanted to watch the KC Chiefs take the field so that I could watch Derrick Thomas unleash pure football hell upon opposing offenses. Not even Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Alonzo Morning’s Heat could ever do that for me in basketball. When the Chiefs’ defense was on the field, I wanted to know where #58 was at. I didn’t care to watch the Chiefs’ offense play. I just wanted to see Derrick and co. take care of business.

By his play, the Chiefs went from a weakling team that opposing teams could count on as a win to having one of the best records from 1990-1999. He carried that team on his back and helped propel them in the playoffs on more than one occasion, even one game short of the Super Bowl. He had more sacks than any other defensive player for that same period at 116.5 sacks. Nothing was more fun.

Not only do I prefer to watch NFL over all other pro sports (rivaled may be only by NCAA football), I would rather watch a dominant defense play than a high scoring offense. I love to watch Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore play because they had nasty defenses. I enjoy a good offense like the Arizona Cardinals’ offense from last year. But a great defense will always train wreck that thing.

So here is to Derrick Thomas and the impact he has had in my life as a sports fan. Because he instilled such a care for the Chiefs I watched that team achieve a 2-14 record (tied for second with the Rams for worst in the league last year, the worst being the 0-16 Detroit Lions). Here’s to a guy who could take over a game. In 1990 he sacked the Seattle Seahawks’ QB 7 times, failing to get the eight sack on the last play of the game allowed Seattle to win. That missed sack is what haunted Derrick. He didn’t so much as care about the NFL single-game record, which still stands to this day, he wanted that one sack that would have given them a win. Here’s to a guy that would have broken that record in a 1998 game against the hated Oakland Raiders with probably 10 sacks in a single game had the Chiefs’ coaches not pulled him out of the game. Here’s to a guy that did not complain when he went to the bench that game with only 6 sacks and knew he would have broken that record.

Here’s to a guy that was one of the first (if not the first) NFL athlete to start a charity and really help his community. Here’s to a guy who received one of the highest honors from the highest office in the United States’ government for his charitable efforts in KC.

Here’s to Derrick Thomas, the greatest Chief I have ever had the privilege to watch play the game (including other HOF notables like Joe “Cool” Montana and Marcus Allen).