Tony G, Can it be?

As many had predicted and some expected, the Chiefs traded future Hall of Fame TE Tony Gonzalez to the Falcons today for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. Gonzalez had requested a trade on multiple occasions, citing his desire to play for a championship-caliber team. As if our Chefs don’t qualify.

The initial shock — even despite significant warning — precludes us from evaluating the transaction objectively, though we won’t know its true value ’til the team finds out exactly which pick they will recieve at the end of the 2010 season.
But, let’s be honest: None of that really matters right now. Most of us remember watching TG bang around clumsily in the paint for the Cal Golden Bears his junior year, averaging a respectable seven points and six rebounds in 28 games and making it to the Sweet Sixteen. We watched as he grew into the NFL’s best and most consistent tight end, a glue-handed reciever without even a milligram of hesitation about leaving his feet in the middle of the field.
And this afternoon, the buzz in innumerable offices around KC reflects the espresso-bittersweetness of his departure.
“Did you hear we traded Tony G,” one of my co-workers asked another.
“Yeah. I’m sick to my stomach,” the other replied.
And that’s probably what most of us are feeling right now — a sense of uncertainty and the queasiness that accompanies every new relationship.
Kansas City’s now involved with a shy, silent mistress called the Patriot Way, and its honeymoon with its tight-lipped new boyfriends is officially over. Chiefs fans can talk all they want about “team first” and building for championships, but it’s in times like these that we have to put our collective money where our ever-flapping gums have been.
When Mr. Hunt gave these guys the keys, quite a few of us handed out gushing endorsements like they were cheese cubes at Sam’s Club.  So, in the end, we have no choice but to suck it up.  This is the test for Chiefs fans.

We here at TPT think Clark Hunt knew what he was getting the franchise into when he hired Pioli, so don’t expect any Cubanesque hyper-management or press-conference second-guessing on his end.  Either way, that doesn’t seem to be how he runs his business.

Tony Gonzalez

Unfortunately, there will be a great number of well-meaning Chiefs fans who give themselves seizures over this trade.  TG was off-limits to them, a symbol of greatness amid a decade of mediocrity.  And that he was.

To us, though, the key to this trade is that 88’s value could only decline.  As nice as it may have been to see him retire in red and gold, we can’t expect the front office to make decisions based on what might be nice or comforting to the fans.  [What would Carl do?]How much would that scene, as fitting and romantic as it may have been, be worth to a floundering franchise?

Would TG have helped this (mostly) young team through a huge transition?  Absolutely.  Would he likely have been Matt Cassel’s best option on third down?  Without a doubt.  But Pioli and Haley aren’t just looking for guys who can help.  They’re looking for guys who want to help.  To them, the difference is big enough to warrant such a huge transaction.

The question for Chiefs fans is, do we really trust these guys as much as we keep saying we do?