Ah, The Memories: Chiefs Super Bowl LIV
We asked, and you answered: here, your best Chiefs Super Bowl memories.
Photo by Anna Petrow
From the funny to sweet, outrageous to inspiring– we’re rounding up some of your favorite Chiefs memories to celebrate this year’s historic Super Bowl win. Keep sending ‘em in, and we’ll keep adding ‘em on. GO CHIEFS!
Photo courtesy of Annie Austen
“I'm not superstitious but, when it comes to sports, I am a little stitious. During the 2018 AFC Championship game the Chiefs played the Patriots and went into the second half down 14-0. I missed the first 2 minutes and 4 seconds of the second half and, from the bathroom, heard my friends watching the game go wild - Travis Kelce had just scored the first Chiefs touchdown of the game! When I went back in the living room to celebrate, they confronted me with a theory - I was bad luck. I couldn't disagree, the evidence was right there, so I spent the entire second half of the AFC Championship game in the bathroom willing a Chiefs win into existence. It was a back-and-forth nail-biter with the Chiefs tying it up and the game going into overtime. Despite our best efforts the Patriots scored a touchdown during the opening possession in overtime ending the game. It was a heartbreaking loss but I did manage to prove myself as a dedicated Chiefs fan. Going into the Super Bowl this year I was fully prepared to spend time wherever I had to for the sake of a win. Thankfully I only had to retreat to the kitchen during the fourth quarter to make it happen.”
- Annie Austen
“My husband and I just moved here with our little boys. Never big sports fans before, we adopted the Chiefs this year to “put down roots” in our new city. Little did we know, they are fantastic! The last playoff game, we couldn’t sit down, and my husband and I were yelling and hugging. This Chiefs turned us into bonafide sports fans!”
- @lawrapritchard
“Week 17. Chargers and Chiefs at Arrowhead. Dolphins and Patriots in Foxborough. The race for the first-round bye in the AFC was on. If the Chiefs could beat the Chargers to go 12-4 and Miami could somehow beat the Patriots in the cold, then we would get the first-round bye. Of course, both games came down to the final minutes. And hometown boy Kevin Harlan, who was calling our game, started simultaneously calling the Miami/New England game as well. When asked by his co-commentator which game he was really calling, Harlan said "I'm calling both games!" I can still hear him saying that to this day. It was such a fun moment to witness. And even better was Miami's improbable win over New England. It was then that I knew we were destined to not only go to the Super Bowl, but to win it all!”
- Hannah Berry
Photo courtesy of Anna Petrow
"I’ve always said my favorite thing about living in the Midwest are those random warm, sunny days we get in the middle of the winter- because the whole city shows up to celebrate. Well, when we woke up on Super Bowl Sunday to 60’s and sun- that’s when you just knew we’d win. Spent the whole day running around town- brunch at Port Fonda, sipping beer in the sunshine on the patio at Brewery Emperial… and ultimately ended the night with the big in our friends’ backyard. The TV, however, was a loss– champagne showers and electricity do not mix."
- Anna Petrow
“I’ve been trying to think of the right words for the past two weeks to capture the feeling of my team going to the Super Bowl. Lots of nostalgia came to mind - memories of Mitch Holthus’ voice in the car on the way home from church, kneeling next to my dad’s recliner as he helped me with my math homework during commercial breaks, the smell of afternoon coffee brewing after my mom awoke from her inevitable nap next to him. Craning our necks from the dinner table to watch the last few minutes, most often to watch the Chiefs self-destruct, regardless of how hopeful they’d made us feel in the first half, and the dastardly sound of the opening of 60 Minutes to signal that it was time to move on. The significance of the Chiefs to my childhood was the dominant feeling, and how I notice myself pulled like a satellite, no matter where I live, to the sounds and smells of the games at home in Kansas City.
It wasn’t until learning that my brother directed the local postgame newscast for Fox 4 after the Super Bowl, that I realized the Chiefs aren’t just about resurrecting feelings from the past for me - they’re about the present, and they’re about my pride. Sports may not be that important in the grand scheme of things, but this Super Bowl and our victory have provided once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for the ones I love and for thousands of others - can you believe all that had to happen to lead to MY little brother being the ONE person in the city tasked with that job?
My small-market team and the place I grew up are being viewed by the whole country with crimson and gold tinted glasses, and I’m so proud of them. I haven’t lived there since I was 17, but somehow still I can assuredly say that it’s more than my past. My heart still beats there now. My home, my people, my true north - are in Kansas City.”
- Caroline Bratney
“I’ve waited my whole life to see a Chiefs Super Bowl for my birthday. It finally happened and made this the greatest birthday week of my life! I knew it was our year from day 1 and watching through all the triumphs and terrifying moments this season made for the most amazing football season. Spending my birthday celebrating the Chiefs is the best gift I could ask for!”
- Allie Kyser
“My first time at Arrowhead Stadium was in 6th grade (so like 1999-2000) and it wasn't for a football game. I grew up in Kansas, but not in Kansas City. However, the Chiefs were a client of the company my dad worked for and he was responsible for updating/replacing all of the advertising in the old scoreboards. Clearly this was long before the age of digital advertising. On a rare occasion, he took me out of school for the day and I got to go with him on the trip to Kansas City. We got to go into an empty stadium and I climbed up into the old scoreboard with my dad while he changed out the signs---who can say they've ever done that?! Fast forward 16 years to my first football game at Arrowhead stadium, where I had the privilege of attending with the Hunt family following the conclusion of our first KCFW + Chiefs Style Lounge partnership in 2016.”
- Katie Sellers
“My favorite memory would be when my four-year-old son grabbed yellow confetti from the parade and gave it to me, saying “Mommy, save this forever!” And I will save it forever.”
-@maryanpuga
“I live in Italy- my husband is in the army, and we’re stationed here- so I watched the game at 2 am my time, and I cried watching the Chiefs win. So I have 100 good memories! I love every time Coach Reid has said “how about those Chiefs,” and every time he says “man alive.” I love the moment that NFL had from mic’ed up Patrick and Coach Reid hugging as the clock wound down, and Patrick saying, “this is awesome.” To me that was such a beautiful moment from a really young quarterback- I feel like you really got his emotions.”
- @marrissawhitford
“Super Bowl LIV started Sunday morning taking it slow but getting amped up for the big game!
I travel for work and was set to leave on a 7am flight on Monday. Already kinda bummed I wouldn’t be able to stay up much past the game to hopefully be celebrating a big W... and that if we won I would miss the parade. But enough woe is me– I decided to make the most of the day and enjoy every moment!
11am I start getting emails from Delta that my flight would likely be impacted by a snow storm hitting Salt Lake (where I was traveling to). I’m in events and truly needed to be onsite with my team at the scheduled time, or else it would have been a bad situation for everyone! To keep the story short... I had to end up changing my flight to leave that evening and the only flight option put me in air EXACTLY during game time.
Cue over-dramatic tears... through these tears I packed my bags, got in an Uber and headed to the airport. I was so bummed to say the least.
Fast forward, once I got over myself, it was actually such a unique experience watching this on the plane and others were as well. When I landed there were still about 4 min left in the game... which we all know were a crucial 4 minutes!!! I stalled in the jetway while I still had plane Wifi, waited for time out, and proceeded to the nearest TV in the airport. At this point I am in Salt Lake and while some people were pulling for the Chiefs, it was evident that I was probably the only hometown “real fan”. It turned a downer situation into something really special that I will never forget! I was (and am!) SO proud to be a chiefs fan and to be a Kansas Citian! I boasted it all week.”
-Nicole Gergon
For a chance to be featured, send your Chiefs memories in to anna@madeinkc.co
