Good Kareem Hunt-ing

I will be the first to admit that I am a sucker for an inspirational sports story.  It does not take much for me to get a lump in my throat when I see a person overcome long odds to set a record or reach an unprecedented goal.  It is why I simply cannot get enough of the Olympics every two years.  (The Winter Games are on February 9-25, 2018, by the way.)

Like many other people in the U.S., I have been counting the days since the last NFL game, Super Bowl LI, took place here in Houston.  Also, like many people in Houston, I have been especially looking forward to the first game of this NFL season after the last couple of weeks dealing with Hurricane Harvey.  What a welcome distraction. 

I had no specific interest in the game except for the fact that it was finally an NFL game that counted.  For the first time since February 5, there would be no more unknown players jockeying for roster spots or half-filled stadium seats.  Last night the game was for real.

For New England Patriot fans, the game began exactly the way that they wanted.  Tom Brady led the Pats 73 yards down the field on a 9-play drive, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by Mike Gillislee.  (Confession time.  Maybe I did have a specific interest in the game.  I picked up Mike Gillislee in my Fantasy Football league a few hours before the game started.)

Then, it was the Kansas City Chiefs’ ball. 

On the very first play from scrimmage, Chiefs Quarterback Alex Smith handed the ball off to rookie Running Back Kareem Hunt.  

Hunt is not what you might call a “top-tier” Running Back.  He was taken by the Chiefs in the 3^rd Round of the Draft, chosen 86^th.  He had a strong college career as a Toledo Rocket, notching 44 touchdowns in 4 years.  But that is not Kareem Hunt’s most impressive statistic.  In 855 touches during his college career at Toledo, 782 rushing attempts and 73 catches, Kareem Hunt did not fumble the ball one single time.  Not once did he juggle the ball so that it came out of his hands.  Not once did the opposing defense reach around the strip the ball.  (One asterisk on this stat:  his freshman year, Hunt attempted one pass and it was intercepted.  He did not attempt another pass his entire college career.  So technically, you could say that he caused a turnover, but it was not a fumble.)

That is, until the first play, of the first game, on the first carry of his NFL career.

Out of the Shotgun formation, Quarterback Alex Smith received the ball and handed it off to Hunt, who ran for 7 yards.  Not a bad run for your first career touch.  Until Patriots Safety Jordan Richards reached around Kareem Hunt and pushed the football out of his hands.

Welcome to the NFL, Kareem.

Stop and think about this for just a second.  You are playing the World Champion New England Patriots on the biggest stage in the world.  The game is on network television being watched by 21.8 million viewers (according to estimates).  You have been waiting your entire life for this one moment, and what do you do?  You fumble the ball and the other team recovers it with outstanding field position.

I literally groaned for Kareem Hunt.  When you have NEVER fumbled the ball EVER, and then on your first carry in the first play of the game, you fumble it?  That is just brutal.

But that is not where the story of Kareem Hunt’s debut ends.

The Chiefs defense did not allow the Patriots to score after Hunt’s fumble, which must have made Hunt breathe a huge sigh of relief.  Then, on the Chiefs next possession, Alex Smith led the team 90 yards on 12 plays for a touchdown, tying the game at 7-7.

And then Kareem Hunt went to work.  By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock, Kareem Hunt had scored 3 touchdowns and racked up 246 yards of total offense, the most by any rookie in his first game in the history of the NFL.  His initial fumble was eclipsed by his jaw-dropping stats.

This, my dear readers, is the definition of an “inspiring sports story.”

The lessons in character and leadership are many.  Hunt’s coaches did not bench him, and Hunt refused to let that one mistake define him.  Instead, he kept grinding forward, not letting his fumble be what people would remember about his first game.

In the end, Hunt was a huge part of the reason that his team upset the World Champions by a final score of 42-27.  A shocked stadium of people shuffled out of Gillette Stadium in stunned silence after watching their home team get shut down before their eyes.  Even Tom Brady said of the defeat, “We had it handed to us on our own field.”  Before the game, sports pundits were discussing whether the Patriots could have an undefeated season.  Now, the headline on ESPN’s website is, “Hunt Historically Great in Debut.”

After two solid weeks of watching hurricane coverage, this was the storyline that I needed.  A hero rising from initial failure.  No doubt there will be more tales of inspiration this NFL season, but this was the best one of Game #1.

Congratulations, Kareem Hunt.  I wish you and the Chiefs all the best this season.  (Except for the two games you play against the Denver Broncos.)