Does Heaven Have a Football Team?

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the men who put my favorite sport on his back and helped make it the truly great professional event it is today.

For those of you who haven't heard, Lamar Hunt passed away last night at the age of 74 after a battle with cancer. Who is this man, you ask. Well, I could never put his entire life into this post, so I suggest anyone interested in that do a quick google of the man and read his incredible bio, but I can tell you this much:

When Lamar Hunt petitioned the National Football League in the late 50s to grant him an expansion team in Dallas, the league turned him down and suggested he ask current team owners if he could buy one of their teams. That did not work, but that did not stop Mr. Hunt. Mr. Hunt, being a sportsman who incidently had a lot of money due to his family's oil interests, decided to form a group and create his own professional football league. Thus, the American Football League was born with such teams as the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans and, of course, Mr. Hunt's Dallas Texans.

Shortly thereafter, realizing their mistake, the NFL reconsidered and offered Mr. Hunt a franchise in Dallas, but Mr. Hunt, being a man of his word said he could not accept because he was already committed to the AFL. The NFL then granted Clint Murchison a franchise in Dallas, the Cowboys. Realizing the business problems this could present, Mr. Hunt moved his Dallas Texans to Kansas City where they became the Kansas City Chiefs.

After several mildly successful years, if only strategic for competing with the NFL, ( and due to the fact that many of the AFL owners had a lot of money to pump into the organization) competition for players sent salaries stratospheric, for those days anyway. So, the NFL humbled itself and agreed to discuss a merger with the AFL.

The merger was announced in 1966, stating the leagues would have a common draft and a title game that year, later to be named "The Super Bowl" by none other than Lamar Hunt.

Mr. Hunt has had stunning successes in starting American professional tennis, Major League Soccer and basketball franchises (Chicago Bulls...) on top of his contributions to the NFL. I really do suggest a little research into this man's life.

On a final note though, one of his grandchildren asked a family member just before Mr. Hunt's passing, "Do you think there's a football team in heaven?"

The family member responded, "I just don't know..."

To which the child replied, "Well, if there's not, I bet Pappy will start one."

Here's to Mr. Hunt and the NFL's expansion into the Great Beyond.