Kansas City Celebrates Chiefs’ Super Bowl Win: “Our Own Dynasty”

KANSAS CITY, Missouri. – Fans lined up Wednesday for the best seat in downtown Kansas City as the city celebrates the Kansas City Chiefs’ second Super Bowl championship in four NFL seasons.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid and Super Bowl MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes rode in double-decker buses, joined by teammates, family and Chiefs officials, in front of up to 10 fans as the parade rolled down downtown Main Street. to a rally at Union Station.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt stood on one of the buses carrying the Lombardi trophy, signifying the Chiefs’ 38-35 Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. He later distributed it to the players, who passed it around.

READ MORE: Patrick Mahomes says Andy Reed didn’t let the Chiefs watch Rihanna’s show during the Super Bowl halftime.

Most schools, many businesses, and some government offices in the Kansas City metro area have been closed to allow fans to enjoy the holiday.

Fans were generally happy and in good spirits as they waited in long lines for food trucks, merchandise trucks and, of course, portable toilets. Some people slept through the night to get the best seats across from Union Station.

But Shelley Deal, 46, from Kansas City, was sitting outside about a block from Union Station as the crowd in front of the rally site became more crowded. She was joined by her 8-year-old daughter Skyler; Taylor’s 16-year-old daughter; and friend.

Diehl said she came to the 2020 Chiefs Parade and decided to spend time with her mother and daughter marking Skyler’s first parade.

READ MORE: Super Bowl LVII: the game averaged 113 million viewers and became the third most watched game in history

“The last one was so fun that we decided we should come to this one as well,” Deal said. “We’re big fans of the Chiefs and we wanted to celebrate a great day with the community.”

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

Some fans have admitted that Kansas City may have gotten a little messed up.

“I’m used to it, but it’s okay,” said Liz Barber, 50, from Shawnee, Kansas. “This is good.”

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

A group of about 25 Kansas City Chiefs fans who arrived around 6 a.m. cooked up a holiday breakfast with corn on the cob, bacon, potatoes and all the side dishes – and they had steaks ready for later.

Dominic Zamora, 18, of Kansas City, said friends arrived around 6 a.m. to install the back door, continuing the tradition when he and his friends attend Chiefs games. He said he expects to return to participate in other parades in the coming years.

READ MORE: Where does the Super Bowl championship gear go after a team’s defeat?

“With Mahomes, everything is still ahead,” said Zamora. “It’s going to be fun and I’m happy to show up.”

Manuel Palacio, 48, of Kansas City, wore a cowhide suit in honor of Kansas City’s nickname “Cowtown”.

He said he was a longtime Buffalo Bills fan who moved to the Chiefs around 1993 after he lost 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 root for a team that keeps winning,” he said, laughing.

Palacio said he and his extended family spend the season watching the Chiefs at home and decided “when – not if – we win the Super Bowl, we’re going to go out there and have fun, celebrate together.”

Officials began planning the parade weeks before the Chiefs beat the Eagles on a field goal with 8 seconds left in the game.

READ MORE: Rihanna’s Super Bowl ASL interpreter Justina Miles went viral for her memorable performance during the halftime show

Kansas City Police said about 675 law enforcement officers from more than 20 agencies, as well as fire and transportation services, spread out along the route for the expected crowd.

The City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure agreed to allocate $750,000 for parade-related costs, and Mayor Quinton Lucas estimated that overtime costs for police and firefighters would be over $1.5 million.

The Kansas City Athletic Commission is expected to contribute another $1 million in private donations, with the Jackson County Legislature voting to add $75,000.