The Bowe Show makes knuckleheaded return

Maybe it was just too good to be true. Our Kansas City Chiefs, less than one year removed from a 2-14 season that was even worse than such a pitiful record would indicate, entered this week as the NFL’s final unbeaten team. The rest of this week, the focus should have been on the upcoming mega-clash Sunday at Mile High Stadium in Denver against the reviled Broncos. It should have been on how the Chiefs ball-hawking, we-make-the-plays-at-crunch-time-in-the-fourth-quarter defense was going to make Peyton Manning wish he had not thumbed his nose at KC’s overtures a few years ago when he left Indianapolis. It should have been about the national spotlight giving Chiefs head coach Andy Reid his due and then some for immediately instilling a professional, hard-working attitude that had been missing from One Arrowhead Drive for... well, ever since Marty Schottenheimer left town, in my opinion. And at least some of the focus should have been about how the Chiefs had seemed above the fray the first nine weeks of the season, untouched by the scandal, police blotter headlines and normal tomfoolery that besets many NFL teams during the course of the long season. Then Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs All-Pro wide receiver who was given a $56 million contract extension prior to this season, decided it was a good idea to — allegedly — drive his sleek sports car through the streets of Riverside at least 13 miles per hour over the speed limit at nearly midnight on a Sunday evening while in possession of suspected marijuana. Normally, I wouldn’t give this much thought, but since he got busted in Platte County, it more or less localizes the story for our readers, many of whom are no doubt asking what in the heck Dwayne Bowe was doing in Riverside, of all places. Good question — maybe he thought Red X was open 24 hours. Anyway, I’ve never driven an Audi A8, but I’m told it’s a premier luxury sedan with a premier price tag. I’m assuming there aren’t many that cruise through Riverside and I would guess that number would be exponentially less at near midnight on a Sunday evening. In other words, D-Bowe’s ride stood out. I’m also assuming that Riverside’s finest don’t have a whole lot of other things to do at such an hour other than looking for folks who are out driving when they shouldn’t be, speeding — allegedly — and getting high — allegedly — to boot. Observers over the years during Bowe’s tenure in KC have often called him a knucklehead. This is a comical way of calling him not very bright and after thinking about this incident for oh... five seconds or so, that might seem to be an understatement. Then again, who am I to judge? I mean, come on, he was just having a little fun with some friends, right? Heck, if this had happened in Colorado, where recreational pot was recently legalized, the officer that pulled him over might have asked him where he got such good stuff instead of popping the handcuffs on him. Just kidding. The point is that in the grand scheme of things, what Bowe did hardly registers and would not show up at all were he Joe Blow, normal citizen and not D-Bowe the NFL star. The counterpoint is that in the grand scheme of Chiefs Kingdom, it’s a ridiculous distraction that figures to at least partially overshadow the feel-good story of the year so far in the most popular spectator sport on the planet. I would imagine Reid is about to pull his renowned mustache out as he ponders the 8,282 questions he will have to answer about No. 82. Then again, Reid has seen it all, in both his professional and personal life and seems to be a pretty laid back dude. As I pen this column Tuesday evening, maybe he’s munching down on some barbecue. Of course, were it not for D-Bowe’s ill-fated Riverside romp, Big Red might be washing those ribs down with a cold one. Chances are, he’s not that laid back. Reid will have earned his paycheck, though, if he can navigate the Chiefs through these turbulent waters and win in Denver. NEXT WEEK: I plan to comment on just how bad of an idea I think Dearborn’s open carry gun law is. Thanks for reading.