Tony Richardson: Mr. Kansas City

May 03, 2005, 2:35:44 PM

Kansas City Chiefs FB Tony Richardson has built quite a name for himself locally. A two-time Pro Bowl performer, grit and determination fashioned him from a rookie free-agent practice squad performer into one of the most respected performers around the League. Yet, there is a soft side to this 6-1, 238 pound, granite-like Adonis that many in the local area have had the pleasure to witness. With a flash of his broad smile, this gridiron warrior quickly transforms into his alter ego, “TRich.” On Monday, May 2nd, TRich was at Kansas City’s Barstow School, sharing his insights on a topic that touched him unlike any other he’s experienced.

It comes as no surprise to those that know TRich how he quickly volunteered to visit Sir Lanka. Along with Indonesia, Sri Lanka had been devastated just weeks earlier by a series horrific of tsunamis. While his colleagues across the NFL prepaired for the rest and relaxation that only the off-season can offer, TRich rushed about town to ensure he had gained all the proper vaccinations and that his passport paperwork was in order. Less than 24 hours after partaking in the Pro Bowl from scenic Hawaii, TRich had swung by the local passport agency and was enroot to the airport, where he boarded a plane to start his journey.

For those of you that have not read the journal entries TRich posted on this site during his travels, click here. After all, there is little justice that can be done to his emotions and experiences in a second-hand account.

Needless to say, the trip, which was made possible thanks to a joint effort by the “Rich in Sprit Foundation,” the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL Player’s Association, touched TRich in several ways. Being hands on and assisting in the relief efforts of the United Nation’s World Food Program left an indelible mark on this son of an army sergeant.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany while his father was stationed overseas, Richardson had ironically traveled outside of the United States rather infrequently. In fact, before his journey to Sri Lanka, the only time he remembered venturing internationally, was when the Chiefs travel abroad to partake in a pair of American Bowl contests (Mexico in 1996 and Tokyo in 1998).

Fast-forward to present day and we find TRich seated in the Barstow auditorium as he participates in a special panel discussing food aid. On stage with TRich are Judith Lewis of the World Food Program, Lauren Landis of Food for Peace, and Bert Farrish, who works at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The audience is a combination of some 250 Barstow students, a smattering of administrators from the school and a handful of reporters.

As the assembly goes on, the majority of the students ask thought-provoking questions of the panelists. Whenever TRich answers a question himself, the entire audience seems to perk up and take notice. His travels still fresh in his memory and his passion for the topic very evident, TRich speaks with a noticeable level of conviction. He covers topics from the typical rations he himself packaged and doled out to families in Sri Lanka to his unquenchable desire to visit Africa next year and do similar work on that AIDS-riddled continent.

There is one thing that is evident when the assembly concludes. Simply, everyone seems to know TRich, even those he meets for the first time. Quickly flashing that trademarked smile again, students approach for autographs and pictures, panelists thank him for is involvement, and media types in attendance surround him to get sound bytes for that evening’s newscast.

That’s about the time you step back and realize that everyone relates so well to TRich because, in a way, he is the epitome of Kansas City. Sure, he grew up in Alabama and went to college at Auburn. And yes, he only moved to Leawood, Kansas in the middle of the 1990s. Yet, TRich is everything that makes the Midwest great. It is because of the zest that TRich has for helping others that everyone at Barstow this day felt that they were in Sri Lanka right along side the second-longest tenured Chief. He’s just like that neighbor who’s lived next to you longer than you care to remember and that feels like a long-standing member of your extended family.

Thanks again TRich! Kansas City wouldn’t be quite the same with out you.

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