Advertisement

Can the jabroni, some Jackson County officials say in lead-up to the Super Bowl

The Jackson County Legislature passed a resolution Tuesday congratulating the Chiefs for winning the AFC championship to secure a berth in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years.

The vote was 6-3.

What the heck?

Why in the name of double overtime would one third of the legislature — officials who depend on the votes of Chiefs fans every four years — turn thumbs down on what seemed at first glance to be a non-controversial bit of back patting for the home team?

Let’s call it the “jabroni” factor.

You’ll remember that being the label Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce had for the mayor of Cincinnati jabroni is slang for doofus or loser due to his trash-talking ahead proclamation ahead of the clash between his Bengals and our Chiefs a little more than a week ago.

You know. That game in Arrowhead (not Burrowhead) Stadium that qualified Kansas City for The Big Game.

Legislator Jeannie Lauer was one of the three to vote no, saying that the resolution’s jabs at the Cincinnati Bengals were “unprofessional” and “unbecoming” of the legislature.

“They don’t like the poor sportsmanship of making fun of the losing team,” said one one county official with knowledge of the minority’s objections. “They did not want to become fodder for the opposing team in the future or to set a poor example according to what they said to me.”

In addition to Lauer, “they” included Jalen Anderson and Sean Smith.

So what was so bad about the language? Here’s the resolution in its entirety:

WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes the impressive performance of the Kansas City Chiefs in winning the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship and securing a spot in Super Bowl LVII; and,

WHEREAS, the Chiefs’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship was a thrilling and historic moment for the team and its fans; and,

WHEREAS, the bromance between Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes II has captured the hearts of Kansas City fans and added to the excitement of the Chiefs’ journey to the Super Bowl; and,

WHEREAS, Kansas City fans collected five Buy One, Get One Free #BigMacSacks last Monday thanks to Joe Burrow’s gracious takedowns; and,

WHEREAS, we understand that the Bengals may have suffered critical injuries to their pride but have reason to believe that there is space available at the Big Cat Rescue for recovery; and,

WHEREAS, the Legislature wishes to show its support for the Chiefs as they face the Philadelphia Eagles in the big game; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the County Legislature of Jackson County, Missouri, that the Legislature wishes the Kansas City Chiefs all the best on their quest for a Super Bowl victory and proudly supports them as they represent our city and county on the biggest stage in football.”

The original language was tougher, Anderson said in an interview Tuesday evening, but even the toned down version was “uncalled for,” he said.

The sponsors of the resolution were Manny Abarca, DaRon McGee and Venessa Huskey. None of them spoke up when Lauer explained why she opposed the resolution’s language.

But Abarca issued the following statement in response to a text message seeking comment Tuesday evening.

“Opposition to the resolution is a nod to the politics of dissension being sewn by Republican legislators and the loser of the chairperson-ship and less about the goal of honoring our team and having playful and competitive banter.”

Translation: Lauer and and Smith are the only members of the legislature who aren’t Democrats, Anderson lost to McGee to be chair of this year’s legislature and there’s a whole lot of tension within the county’s governing body right now that we won’t go into right now because it might spoil an otherwise cheerful run up to the Super Sunday.

We’ll leave that for another story.

As for Kelce, he has no regrets.

Meeting with the press on Tuesday in Scottsdale, Arizona, Kelce said he would call out Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval if he had to do it all over again.

“I don’t regret any of that, no. I had a whole lot of fun saying it, actually,” Kelce said at the Chiefs’ team hotel. “I might say it again if we get a chance to see them in AFC Championship again.”

And what was it that he said about Pureval on national TV after the Chiefs beat the Bengals a week ago Sunday for jokingly questioning whether Burrow, the Bengals quarterback, and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes might share parentage., among other things?

“I’ve got some words for the Cincinnati mayor,” Kelce said that night. “Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni!”

Heavens.