The blessed bye week

Perhaps the worst thing about cheering for a bad team is that the end never seems in sight. The games last forever. The weeks drag on. The criticisms begin to get repetitive. And the draft in April seems years away.

This is the life of every diehard fan in Cleveland, St. Louis, Detroit, Oakland, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Buffalo and Washington right now. Trust me, my beloved Chiefs are 7-32 over the last 2½ seasons. I know this routine all too well.

APThe team's bye week could not have come at a better time for Chiefs head coach Todd Haley.

It’s gotten to the point where my favorite week of the football season is the Chiefs’ bye week. Why? Because I get a break from the constant reminder that my favorite team just isn’t that good.

During the bye week, I don’t have to worry whether GM Scott Pioli is the most overpaid, overhyped executive in the history of football. I don’t have to worry whether Matt Cassel will tear his rotator cuff after Branden Albert blows another blocking assignment. I don’t have to worry whether coach Todd Haley will pull a Tom Cable on Larry Johnson.

This week, which was Kansas City’s bye week (as you might have guessed from the lack of “Haley is disgruntled with Player X from the Carl Peterson era and wants to rid himself of Player X immediately” stories), the Chiefs disappeared completely from my mind. If it wasn’t for L.J.’s public bashing of Haley and his use of a gay slur, I wouldn’t have thought about the Chiefs all week.

It was a nice — and much-needed — departure from reality. I got to watch the Browns for the first time this year, making me realize that Haley isn’t the worst coach in the NFL. That title, of course, belongs to Eric Mangini, whom the NFP’s Michael Lombardi has fittingly dubbed “The Secret.” Let me tell you what, Mr. Mangini, the secret is out: Derek Anderson is dreadful. Over his last four games he has completed two, nine, 12 and six passes. That’s bad.

I got to watch Dallas quarterback Tony Romo shred another putrid secondary, this time Seattle’s. (By the way, if you’re keeping track, Romo has 1,271 of his 1,652 passing yards and four of his five wins against the Bucs, Chiefs, Falcons and Seahawks. Just sayin’.)

I even got to watch a little bit of Stinkapalooza 2009 between Detroit and St. Louis. Boy, that was a treat.

In truth, I was doing all of this to make myself feel better. I ignored most of the good games (Broncos-Ravens, Eagles-Giants, Packers-Vikings), instead opting to watch bad team after bad team get obliterated. It was my way of telling myself, “Hey, the Chiefs aren’t this bad are they?” (And, sadly, I came to the conclusion that, yes, the Chiefs really are.)

Bye weeks are supposed to give teams a welcome break from the daily grind that is the NFL. But when you cheer for a bad team, I’d argue that the fans need even more of a break than the players. Getting blown out 37-7 every week gets a little old after awhile.

Sometimes it’s just easier to go 0-0 for the week.

Scott Miller is a junior at the University of Iowa and a contributor to the National Football Post.

Follow him on Twitter: @stmillr.

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