Alex Smith and the Chiefs couldn’t hang on to a 21-3 lead against the Titans in Kansas City on Saturday. (Charlie Riedel/Associated Press)

Missourians are good, loyal, hard-working people. And on Saturday, they had a really awful sports day.

First, the Missouri Tigers were staring at a chance to knock off Florida in men’s basketball. They led by 12 in the first half, but with the game tied and eight seconds to play, the Tigers committed a costly turnover, allowing Gators guard Chris Chiozza a layup for the win at the buzzer.

“It hurts,” Missouri guard Jordan Barnett told the Kansas City Star, before pausing for a moment. “A lot.”

Still, sports fans in another part of the Show-Me State had the Kansas City Chiefs, who were favored by 8.5 points in the first round of the NFL playoffs against the Tennessee Titans, to root on later in the evening.

The Chiefs played the first half of the season looking like Super Bowl contenders after knocking off New England in Week 1. The Titans had gone nine years without a playoff appearance and 14 without a playoff win.

Kansas City jumped out to a 21-3 lead at halftime. And ESPN statisticians gave the Chiefs overwhelming odds to hold on to that lead.

Guess what? They couldn’t hold it.

In the second half, Marcus Mariota caught his own pass for a touchdown.

Derrick Henry ran for a 35-yard touchdown and 114 of his 156 yards. Mariota connected with Eric Decker for a go-ahead touchdown with six minutes to play and the Titans’ defense forced the Chiefs to turn the ball over on downs on their final possession.

Kansas City’s Marcus Peters seemed to strip the ball away from Henry as Tennessee tried to run out the clock — Derrick Johnson even returned the fumble for a go-ahead touchdown — but upon review, officials found Henry was down before the ball came out.

When Henry seemed corralled on third and 10 with 1:53 to play, it was Mariota who threw a block to spring him to the outside. Henry wound up running for 22 yards and the game-sealing first down.

And there’s more. The Los Angeles “No Longer from St. Louis” Rams entered Saturday night’s home playoff game against the Atlanta Falcons as 5.5-point favorites. Even the NHL’s St. Louis Blues got involved, losing to the Flyers, 6-3, in Philadelphia.

Missourians truly couldn’t catch a break. Perhaps Kansas City Star columnist Sam Mellinger puts it best:

Chiefs fans don’t deserve this. That’s not really a compliment to Chiefs fans, either. Nobody deserves this. Sports are supposed to be fun. They’re supposed to be a reason to get together with your family, or call a friend you haven’t talked to in a while, or just forget about your bills and your problems and that weird noise your car is making.

They’re not supposed to kick you in the teeth. They’re not supposed to make you hurt, make you wonder why the hell you put up with it, spend the money, spend the time, because what’s the point if this is what you get?

Well, Missouri, today, this is what you get. At least you’re not Cleveland.

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