‘Our own dynasty’: Kansas City fetes latest Super Bowl win

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce promised thousands of fans celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship on Wednesday that the team will be back for more.

During a rollicking victory rally at downtown Union Station after a parade, Mahomes and Kelce joked about “experts” predicting the just-concluded NFL season would be a rebuilding year for the Chiefs, who hosted the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday 38:35 defeated.

“We’re back, we’re back,” NFL regular-season and Super Bowl MVP Mahomes said to thousands of cheering fans in the Chiefs’ red and gold team colors.

“When we started this season, the AFC West said we were going to rebuild,” Mahomes said. “To be honest, I don’t know what reconstruction means. In our development year we are world champions, we are world champions.”

Kelce noted that some “haters” predicted the Chiefs wouldn’t even make the playoffs.

“Actually, this was the best season of my life,” Kelce said. “I owe it (to the fans), I owe it to the guys on this stage, I owe it to everyone at Chiefs Kingdom and the organization we’ve been able to build.”

Celebrating his second Super Bowl win with the Chiefs, coach Andy Reid told the crowd, “There’s no place you’d rather be and no better place than right here, baby. … It’s not often that you can say that you’re the best team in the world, have the best players in the world, have the best organization in the world and above all the best fans in the world.”

The rally celebrations capped a day that began with some fans sleeping in overnight — and others arriving before dawn — to snag a prime seat downtown to celebrate the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl championship in four NFL seasons celebrate.

Players, coaches, team officials, family members and others rode in double-decker buses past legions of fans, sometimes standing as high as 10 people deep, as the parade rolled down a main street downtown en route to the Union Station rally.

Many players got off the buses to dance, sign autographs, take selfies and occasionally hand out beers to fans along the route. A few lucky fans were able to touch the Lombardi Trophy that marked the Chiefs’ win.

Most schools, many businesses, and some government offices in the greater Kansas City area were closed to allow fans to enjoy the celebrations. Most were in good spirits as they waited in long lines for food trucks, merchandise trucks and, of course, portable toilets. Police did not immediately report major problems during the event.

After decades of championship drought, the city is gaining experience with victory parades. Four seasons ago, the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers for the team’s first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. Then, in 2015, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series, the city’s first baseball championship in 30 years.

Shellie Diehl, 46, of Kansas City, sat about a block from Union Station with her 8-year-old daughter, Skyler; 16-year-old daughter Taylor; and a friend. Diehl said she came to the Chiefs parade in 2020 and decided to have mother-daughter time on Wednesday while they celebrated Skyler’s first parade.

“The last one was so much fun that we decided we had to get to this one,” Diehl said. “We are big Chiefs fans and wanted to celebrate a great day with the community.”

Some fans admitted Kansas City may be spoiled a bit.

“It takes a little getting used to, but that’s okay,” said Liz Barber, 50, of Shawnee, Kansas. “It is good.”

“We’ve had a 50-year drought, so it’s about time we had our own dynasty,” said David Cordray, 38, of Kansas City.

About 25 Chiefs fans, who arrived around 6 a.m., cooked up a breakfast feast, complete with corn on the cob, bacon and potatoes and all the trimmings — and they had steaks ready for later in the day. Dominic Zamora, 18, said the group of friends are continuing a tradition of tailgating at Chiefs games.

“There’s more to come with Mahomes,” Zamora said. “It will be fun and I look forward to being part of it.”

Manuel Palacio, 48, wore a cow suit in homage to Kansas City’s “Cowtown” nickname. He said he was a longtime Buffalo Bills fan who converted to the Chiefs after losing a bet with a Chiefs fan.

“I had to convert,” Palacio said. “It’s like being an Oakland Raiders fan; At some point you have to cheer for the team that keeps winning,” he says with a laugh.

Officials began planning the save weeks before the Chiefs defeated the Eagles with a field goal and stayed 8 seconds in the game. The Kansas City Police Department said about 675 law enforcement officers from more than 20 agencies were deployed to Wednesday’s event, along with fire departments and transportation officials.

The City Council’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee earmarked $750,000 for parade-related expenses, while Mayor Quinton Lucas estimated overtime costs for police and firefighters at more than $1.5 million. The Kansas City Sports Commission was expected to contribute an additional $1 million in private donations for parade expenses and sponsorships, and the Jackson County legislature voted for $75,000.

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Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City contributed to this story.

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This story has been updated to correct that it is Kansas City’s second championship in four seasons, not two years.

Margaret Stafford, The Associated Press