Manners, The Chiefs, and "One Little Finger"

Manners. Manners are what distinguish a place you'd like to live from a place where you have to live. Since moving to the Midwest about six months ago, I have learned to really appreciate how thoughtful, how polite, and how generally nice Midwesterners are.

So I was shocked -- really shocked! -- to read about the behavior of the Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator at the end of the Chiefs' game against the Dallas Cowboys last weekend. Yes, the Chiefs were robbed. But I still was shocked to read that a grown man would use an obscene gesture in front of his colleagues, thousands of fans at Arrowhead, and all of us at home. Kudos to the NFL for levying a fine as a result. Sure, it's only money, but maybe it will make others think twice about their public behavior.

Even more shocking to me has been the local reaction. Those of you in Boston and New York need to understand that this is Kansas City. The Midwest. The Heartland. To hear them tell it, this is God's country. People open doors for you here, bid you enthusiastic "have a nice day"s, and actually let you merge in traffic -- or what passes here for traffic. But the obscene gesture by Mr. Gunther Cunningham? Understandable. Reasonable. Acceptable.

I don't get the double standard. A lot of the recent big sports stories wouldn't even have been stories had the individuals involved just thought back to their basic nursery-school manners before acting. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. When you do something to hurt someone else, say sorry. Don't do anything you wouldn't want your mom to find out about.

Come to think of it, with all the hullabaloo about T.O.'s birthday party guest list, maybe it was just T.O.'s attempt to use his manners. Most elementary schools encourage kids to invite everyone in their class, so no one feels left out. Bravo to the teammates who politely attended their friend's party. Viva manners in 2006!

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