Hello, sports gods. How have you been?
Listen, I know sports fans talk to you from time to time, and I don't normally do this, but it's my turn to write the column, so here goes ...
As a whole, you've been good to the sports fan in me. I've seen the St. Louis Cardinals win two World Series titles - that last one in 2011 was quite a ride - and the St. Louis Blues winning the Stanley Cup last summer was something I'll never forget. I don't mean to sound greedy, but there are two things I still want to see at some point in my life.
The first is to see the Missouri men's basketball team make the Final Four. It doesn't look good this year, and probably not next year. But one day, hopefully sooner than later, the Tigers will no longer be the best basketball program never to make the Final Four. Please?
The second - and this is the more urgent request - is to see the Kansas City Chiefs play in the Super Bowl.
You see, all they have to do is beat the Tennessee Titans this afternoon in the AFC Championship Game, and they're in the big game. Just one more win, and they're Super Bowl-bound.
The only thing standing in their way is the last team to get in the AFC playoffs, a team that had to beat the defending Super Bowl champion, then knock off the Super Bowl favorite to get to this stage of the playoffs.
Oh, yeah. And they have this running back, Derrick Henry. He runs through defenses like a hot knife through butter. I think they even call him "Tractorcito."
Sure, the Titans making the Super Bowl would be a great story for football. They sneaked into the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, and to get to the Super Bowl, they'd have to knock out the top three teams in the AFC.
But here's the thing. I'm convinced the Chiefs are a team of destiny. Hear me out.
Do you remember that Week 17 game against the Los Angeles Chargers? That game appeared to be just a formality, and with the New England Patriots facing the Miami Dolphins, it seemed like the Chiefs were destined for the No. 3 seed.
Then you worked your magic - or I should say "Fitzmagic" - and led the Dolphins to that last-minute, come-from-behind win. That led to Kevin Harlan's memorable "I'm calling both games!" call, and just like that, the Chiefs had a first-round bye.
Still don't believe the Chiefs are a team of destiny? Fine. How about last week's divisional game against the Houston Texans?
The Chiefs were down 24-0 in the second quarter. I began wondering if it was time to start looking ahead to baseball season, and then poof, they rolled off one of the greatest comebacks I have ever seen.
I see the oddsmakers have Kansas City as a touchdown favorite in today's game. Well, all that does is make me more nervous.
But this Chiefs team is good. I mean, really good.
That loss to the Patriots in last year's AFC title game was just the wakeup call the Chiefs needed. They learned from their mistakes. They got a new defensive coordinator, they changed their defensive scheme, and they upgraded at some major positions that were holding them back.
And you tried scaring us on that one Thursday night in Denver, didn't you? You had Chiefs fans overloading internet search engines, trying to figure out how they could donate their knees to Patrick Mahomes. But here he is, trying to break the "Madden Curse" with his childlike enthusiasm and his phenomenal passing precision.
Please, please give me this one thing today. I know several fan bases are suffering more than me right now - sorry Seattle Mariners fans, I'm going to use you as an example - but I've seen the Titans play in the Super Bowl. It was a good one, but they've had their chance.
C'mon, sports gods, 50 years is long enough. It's time to get the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl.
And if you do this, just think, Andy Reid would be going into the biggest game of his life coming off a bye weekend.
How 'bout those Chiefs?