Post by TheShadow on Feb 18, 2006 22:51:29 GMT -5
www.kansascity.com
‘The rivalry grew out of mutual respect and mutual dislike.’
By ELIZABETH MERRILL
The Kansas City Star
It’s not even cordial anymore. If they pass each other in the hallway this
weekend, or reach for the same crab leg in the buffet line, Carl Peterson
probably won’t even make eye contact with him. And he certainly won’t stop
and chat with Al Davis.
Rivalries are like that sometimes. They can make grown men with good jobs
slather silver and black paint all over themselves and lose all
sensibilities for 3 1/2 hours. They can make ill will linger for decades.
Peterson’s disdain for the Raiders goes further than a snubbed handshake. It
comes from the top, from his boss, Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt.
“I would suspect in your conversation with Lamar that he indicated that he’s
not real fond of him, is he?” Peterson says. “Lamar Hunt was the guy who
founded (the AFL). Al Davis started in this league as an assistant coach. I
don’t know that Al Davis has ever had a desire to, or has ever really taken
a moment to say to Lamar Hunt, ‘Hey thank you, on behalf of myself and my
family for starting the American Football League and allowing me an
opportunity to do the things I’ve always wanted to do.’ ”
The warm fuzzies and thank-yous probably won’t come Sunday night, when the
Chiefs travel to Oakland to play in one of the NFL’s longest and most bitter
rivalries.
Peterson was in the locker room Sunday, shortly after the Chiefs’ win over
the Jets, educating the rookies on the trip to the Black Hole. Hunt, who
founded the franchise, walked past an assistant coach, who asked whether
Hunt was making the trip.
Of course, Hunt said. It’s the Raiders.
“I’d be less than honest if I didn’t say I considered that to be (two) of
our bigger games all year,” Hunt says. “The rivalry grew out of mutual
respect and mutual dislike.”
Hunt, who founded the AFL in 1960, said it started with intense competition
in the 1960s, reached a peak in the 1969 season, when the Chiefs beat the
Raiders for the AFL championship, and became downright bitter in 1970 after
the infamous Ben Davidson incident. The Chiefs were up 17-14 that year when
quarterback Len Dawson apparently sealed the win, running for a first down
that would’ve let Kansas City run out the clock. While Dawson was on the
ground, Davidson speared him. Chiefs receiver Otis Taylor retaliated, a
bench-clearing brawl ensued, and Dawson’s first down was nullified.
The game ended in a tie, costing the Chiefs a tie for the division title.
But it’s obvious the bitterness goes outside the lines. Hunt, who has nary a
bad word to say about any owner, has grown impatient with Davis’ numerous
lawsuits against the NFL, lawsuits that have included the Chiefs.
“I’m a friend in the context that we helped fight a battle together for
survival of the American Football League,” Hunt says. “But I don’t consider
myself close to Al in recent years. There are philosophical differences
about how he … You just don’t continually sue your business partners like he
has. That causes me some problems.”
Peterson’s chilly relationship with Davis reached its peak a few years back
when they rode the same elevator down to the field after a close Chiefs
victory. Peterson says he told Davis it was a great football game and it was
too bad somebody had to lose. He says he was being sincere when he extended
his hand to Davis and wished him luck for the rest of the season.
Davis, Peterson says, elected not to shake hands. They haven’t talked since.
“That’s how it’s been,” Peterson says. “When they beat us pretty soundly in
Oakland the year they went to the Super Bowl with Rich Gannon … I had signed
Rich Gannon (earlier) and he was out of football. I had known him since he
was at St. Joseph’s Prep.
“After the game at Oakland Coliseum, I went into the locker room to
congratulate Rich, and I know Al didn’t like it. Sometimes Al loses
perspective that there are friendships in the league. For 3 1/2 hours, you
want to beat each other up, but when it’s over, it’s over.”
Peterson says former Chiefs coach Marty Schottenheimer took Raiders week
very seriously, so much that one time he asked his coach what made him hate
them so much.
“He said, ‘I’ve always hated their arrogance,’ ” Peterson says.
Coach Dick Vermeil may not be quite as passionate about the silver and
black, but he did spend a chunk of his news conference Tuesday describing
the atmosphere and how it’s different this week because Oakland is on the
schedule.
“I know the Raider fans,” Vermeil says. “When you go through the parking lot
it’s the opposite of going through Green Bay’s parking lot. In Green Bay
they say: ‘Hey, good luck, Coach. Hey, hope you have a good game.’ I tell
you this, they wave only one finger when you go through (Oakland).
“But they’re very intense. That portion of their fan base is very intense.
They love their Raiders.”
And Peterson loves Raider week. He walked briskly past reporters Tuesday,
then sat back in his office and waxed nostalgic about the rivalry for about
20 minutes. He’ll warn the rookies to wear their helmets on the sidelines or
run the risk of being pelted by batteries.
He’ll chuckle at the painted fans and walk past Davis without saying a word.
“I think it’s something that really makes the National Football League
special,” Peterson says. “I think these types of rivalries are what the
league is built on.”