Tony Gonzalez will never forget how he became a man in Kansas City

As the airplane descended into Kansas City, just hours before the 47th annual 101 Awards, Tony Gonzalez allowed himself to reminisce, not only about his 41 years on this earth, but also about the 12 seasons he spent as a Chief.

Gonzalez, the 13th overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft and this year’s inductee in the Chiefs’ Ring of Honor, doesn’t get back here much, so he couldn’t help but marvel at how much he, and the city, has changed.

For one, there’s way more to do downtown than there was back then, he said, back when he and his teammates celebrated the opening of chain restaurants like P.F. Chang’s and Cheesecake Factory.

But his personal change, in retrospect, is stunning, he admitted. The former star tight end has come a long way since his rookie year, when he dropped 17 passes as a rookie, the most in the NFL, and was ripped by former Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock in his uber-popular year-end grades.

“He gave me a D-minus in the paper, and said that it was another bust by the Kansas City Chiefs,” Gonzalez reminisced with a laugh while at the 101 Awards banquet at the Westin Crown Center.

But in retrospect, Gonzalez added, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. So was the booing at Arrowhead that year from fans fed up with his focus drops.

“Talk about growth,” Gonzalez said. “When you hit the hard times in your life, that’s when you find out what you’re made of. And Iremember I made the decision I was never going to hear that sound (of boos) again, I would never be outworked.

“Up until that point, I wasn’t staying after practice, I wasn’t showing up early. I wasn’t catching balls while the defense was going. I was doing what I was told to do, working hard, but nothing extra. And that’s what it takes. That’s what greatness is all about.”

Gonzalez learned this by watching former Chiefs greats like Will Shields, Tony Richardson, Marcus Allen and Warren Moon, and after he embraced their ethos, a superstar was born.

“It changed everything for me,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez nearly doubled his receptions and receiving yards as a second-year pro, and officially took off in 1999 when he made the first of 14 Pro Bowls and first of six All-Pro teams during a killer 17-year career that was spurred by his newfound understanding of the essence of manhood once his career got off to a rocky start.

“I became a man out here in Kansas City,” Gonzalez said. “The tough times, the storms are coming, but it’s what you do when you’re going through that storm, the decisions you make, that can change your life and make it unbelievable. Because the sun’s gonna come out and make it a great time.”

Gonzalez’s tenure in Kansas City came to an end after the 2008 season, when Gonzalez — sick of the constant losing and, at 31 years old,entering the tail end of his prime — finally requested a trade.

“I didn’t want to leave; I was scared,” Gonzalez said. “I was scared about the reaction from the fans, I was scared about the reaction from my teammates.”

Still, he knew he needed to risk his comfort in Kansas City for a better situation. He found it in Atlanta, where he went to the playoffs and played in an NFC Championship game while the Chiefs used the second-round pick they got from the Falcons for Gonzalez on cornerback Javier Arenas, who played for six teams across a seven-year career.

“If I would have stayed here … the Todd Haley years did not work out for them here,” Gonzalez said. “It worked out for me.”

But Gonzalez still feels the love from Chiefs fans, which is all that matters to him.

“I feel just as much as a Chief as if I’d stayed here my whole career,” Gonzalez said. “I still feel loved by the fans here, and I love them, and it’s good to be back here.”

Though the club has not moved to retire Gonzalez’s number — the club has an overall shortage of numbers, as the Chiefs have already retired 10 jersey numbers, which is among the most in the NFL — Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt hinted that Gonzalez’s looming first year of eligibility for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019 played a role in the franchise’s desire to honor him this year.

“Since he’s going to have to get used to hearing Hall of Fame connected to his name over the next couple of years, it’s our honor to be the first,” Hunt said.

Gonzalez’s Hall resume is strong. He set franchise records for receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and 100-yard games, and he also set NFL records for career receptions, receiving yards and 100-yard receiving games for tight ends.

Gonzalez is also the first tight end in league history to produce 16 consecutive seasons with 50 or more receptions, and his 1,325 career receptions are the second-most all-time, at any position, only behind the great Jerry Rice.

“He was always putting in extra time after practice, catching balls or running routes,” Hunt said. “His relentless drive helped him become the best tight end in the history of the game.”

Gonzalez owes it all to that rough start with the Chiefs, a memory he embraces to this day due to all the ways it’s benefited him.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything, honestly,” Gonzalez said. “It made the person I am now, and what I’m doing with my life with my wife and my kids. I owe it all to Kansas City, and being that 13th pick overall in 1997.

“To be able to go up in that Ring of Honor and be listed with all those guys, whew, it’s amazing. Couldn’t ask for anything more.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2018 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Tony Gonzalez will never forget how he became a man in Kansas City."