Super Bowl champs!!

The Chiefs did it. After 50 years of falling short–and really only one of those years in which they were close to getting there–a lot of us ‘seasoned’ Chiefs fans had convinced ourselves we would never see it again. Don’t call us Debbie Downers. After 50 years of failure in that department, I’d call us realists. A guy named Patrick Mahomes has changed all of that. Is this great or what?

Mahomes.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes had one of the less productive games of his young career. Two interceptions. Multiple off-target throws that are very uncharacteristic of him.

His performance, at least statistics-wise, was sub-optimal to the point that as the closing seconds of the Chiefs’ amazing come-from-behind victory were ticking away, my son and I held a discussion about who would be named MVP of the game. We settled on guessing it would be running back Damien Williams, who finished with 104 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown, plus four catches for 29 yards receiving and one receiving touchdown. In the history of Super Bowls, Williams was the first player ever to rush for more than 100 yards and pick up a touchdown both on the ground and through the air.

Based on that, it was a bit surprising at first blush when Mahomes was named MVP. Even some national pundits expressed the belief that Williams had been hosed out of the MVP award.

But let’s analyze it this way: When the Chiefs were down by 10 points with only six or seven minutes to go in the game, would they have had a chance to come back without Mahomes? If we just had Williams and no Mahomes, do the Chiefs still make that comeback? Not likely. From that point of view, yes, Mahomes is your MVP.

Add in the fact the voters in the MVP designation are typically attracted to quarterbacks like moths to a flame and it’s easy to understand the selection of Mahomes.

Really, Mahomes is not only the face of the Chiefs it is now obvious he has become the face of the entire NFL. All of us Chiefs fans are perfectly fine with that. And the people in charge of the NFL are perfectly fine with that, as well.

The biggest challenge for Mahomes will be to stay humble. He has done a fantastic job of that to this point. Listen to his interviews. Quick to always praise his teammates when the attention and praise is showered upon him. It’s impressive the way the young man handles himself in the bright public spotlight.

Ok, that’s it for Chiefs talk in the column this week. Except for this note to say we put together your Landmark quickly this week to get the paper out a day ahead of the Chiefs victory parade on Wednesday. That gives everyone associated with production of our normal Wednesday edition to have the chance to hit the parade or celebrate in whatever way suits them.

Hey, Super Bowl championships are rare in KC. We’ve got to give them the respect they deserve.

Don’t panic just yet because sometimes these numbers take crazy twists and turns and dips and spikes. But in the month of January, Platte County general sales tax collections dropped by nearly five percent (4.86% to be exact) compared to January of last year.

Revenue for the dedicated sales taxes for parks and for roads each took a nearly three percent (2.9% to be exact) drop.

The January collections represent retail activity from the month of November, which includes what is typically viewed as the beginning of Christmas shopping season.

Even more eye-opening was income from the use tax (tax on out-of- state purchases). Use tax collections in January of 2020 show a drop of nearly 43% compared to January of 2019.

Use tax revenue at the county is placed into the general fund. An important number to look at it, as a result, is the combined total of general sales tax and use tax revenue. That combined total for January was $1,062,320, which is down nearly 17% from January of last year.

Again, these low numbers could just be a blip on the radar so now is not the time to panic. The February totals will be in any day now and may show a bounce back. We’ll keep you posted.

Here is your public service reminder that it’s election season in Platte County in 2020.

Here is your reminder of the county-level positions that are up for grabs. Filing begins Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 8 a.m. and ends Tuesday, March 31 at 5 p.m. at the Platte County Board of Elections, 2600 NW Prairie View Road in Platte City.

Spots open this year, with current officeholder listed:

District one county commissioner (Dagmar Wood).
District two county commissioner (John Elliott).
Assessor (David Cox).
Public administrator (Jera Pruitt).
Sheriff (Mark Owen).
Treasurer (Rob Willard).

There’s your lineup. Six county spots open for competition. How many contested races will we see?

(Get contested with Ivan Foley on Twitter @ivanfoley and on Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. Catch him on Landmark Live or email him at ivan@plattecountylandmark.com )