Kansas City or Philly? 12 writers debate which city wins this hometown Super Bowl | Opinion

We asked six Opinion writers from The Kansas City Star and The Philadelphia Inquirer Opinion desks to weigh in on the culture and football prowess of their cities. Here’s what our columnists, editorial writers, contributors and Opinion editors had to say.

What does your football team mean to you?

Joel Mathis: I grew up a Chiefs fan, but I lived and worked eight years in Philadelphia, including at Philly Weekly and Philly Mag. I have uttered the words “Go Birds.” And I still get defensive when anybody mentions Santa Claus and the snowballs. I love being around the joy of the Patrick Mahomes era. No matter what happens Sunday, I’ll have a lot of happy friends and a lot of sad friends. I’m rooting for the team that’s A) chasing history, and B) still has Donna Kelce in its corner.

Daniel Pearson: The Eagles define Philadelphia. And I love Philadelphia. When the team is struggling, the mood in the city can turn sour. When the team is winning, just saying “Go Birds” can elicit a smile from a total stranger. Every devastating defeat (if you want to upset a real Eagles fan, just mention the name Joe Jurevicius) and every shocking victory takes up valuable real estate in my memory. When the Eagles play, nearly everyone I know, no matter how busy, is going to be tuned in. Even if the team stinks. Even if the game barely matters.

Luis Carrasco: Being from far West Texas, I can’t say I had much of a rooting interest in a football team growing up. Geographically the Dallas Cowboys were almost as far away as the Denver Broncos. As an adult, I’ve had a chance to be a fan of the Titans, Cardinals, Texans, and Seahawks, but none of them quite took. Perhaps it’s that while those cities have sports fans, it is Philadelphia that’s a sports city. I’ve been in Philly for less than two years and have already had more conversations with neighbors and strangers about the Eagles than anywhere else for any other team. So to me, the Eagles represent community.

David Mastio: In my neighborhood, Sunday afternoon means strolling through my streets watching the men cluster around garage TVs fresh from yard work with beer in hand and the volume up loud. It is always the Chiefs that are on. I’d never seen this phenomenon in D.C., where I spent most of my life, but now it is a part of my life.

Solomon Jones: I grew up as an Eagles fan, watching with my father as Roman Gabriel was sacked on nearly every offensive play. That taught me to deal with disappointment. When the team improved under Dick Vermeil and went to the Super Bowl in 1980, I bet a dollar and lost. That taught me not to gamble. When my son was born, the first piece of clothing I bought for him was an Eagles onesie. That taught me the value of fatherhood. When I realized that our team had more Black quarterbacks than any other team, my fandom grew. That taught me loyalty. When I had to wait until 2017 for the Eagles to win their first Super Bowl, that taught me patience.

Yvette Walker: The Kansas City Chiefs long have felt like neighbors. You see, I’ve lived in KC twice, and the first time — in the early 2000s — I could walk to the stadium on a nice day from my modest ranch on Sni-A-Bar Road. The fact that the Chiefs played football in my backyard made me feel good even if I wasn’t the most dedicated fan.

Toriano Porter: I have a love-hate relationship with the NFL. Because I was born and raised in St. Louis, I am jaded with the league. The two teams I rooted for the most — the St. Louis football Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams — moved to Arizona and Los Angeles, respectively, and left me standing at the altar. Living in Kansas City for the last 18 years, I would be naive not to acknowledge what I have witnessed over the last few years — greatness in quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a historic run by a budding dynasty.

How would you describe your city’s identity, and why is it richer than the opponent’s?

Dave Helling: Kansas City can’t match Philadelphia’s history. What we lack in East Coast tradition, though, is more than redeemed by our scrappy Midwestern independence. Kansas City was built by men and women who hacked roads out of stony bluffs. No men in powdered wigs for us: Our early trading posts and saloons served grimy cattlemen and coal-covered railroad workers. Irish and Italian and German immigrants found futures here. Later, southern Black migrants brought an intoxicating stew of jazz and dancing and baseball. The edges were smoothed over the years, but Kansas City remains mostly gritty and practical, which, come to think of it, perfectly describes our football team. We’re more Main Street than Main Line.

Daniel Pearson: America was founded right here in a building I can see from my desk. We hosted the country’s first volunteer fire company, the first library, the first Marines, and first zoo. This city offers something for everyone, from Gamble and Huff’s Sound of Philadelphia to our world-renowned orchestra, the Rocky statue to the works of Monet, Matisse, Eakins, and Tanner housed in the museums next door, from cheesesteak and halal carts to Zahav. Love us or hate us, people tend to know something about Philadelphia. Ben Franklin alone provides more identity and personality than most cities, let alone one named after an entirely different state.

Solomon Jones: Philadelphia is an old industrial city where the remnants of long-shuttered factories exist in every facet of who we are. We can’t exist in a pristine, friendly place like Kansas City. That’s too soft for us. We need the grime that took centuries to accumulate. It reminds us of where we’ve been. We need the checkered history of this team. It reminds us of ourselves. We remember when the Eagles were among the worst teams in the league. Eagles fans are the greatest in the world because we know what it is to lose, and that collective heartbreak makes winning unbelievably sweet.

Jenice Armstrong: I have lived and worked as a reporter in both Kansas City and Philadelphia. Both are great cities. But trust me when I say that there’s really no comparison. That’s not to throw shade on Kansas City, which is a wonderful place to live and raise children. But it’s a midsize city in the Midwest. Think about it. Kansas City’s top attraction is its World War I Memorial. Philadelphia has the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Chiefs fans love their team, but nothing compares to Eagles fans who bleed green.

Food... which city does it better? Why?

Dave Helling: This hardly seems a serious question. You can travel for 10 minutes in any direction in Kansas City and bump into world-famous slow-cooked ribs, burnt ends, and brisket sandwiches. Barbecue smoke wafts over the city, an aroma that puts a smile on every face. Eagles fans should walk the Arrowhead parking lot before a game sometime to understand this reaction. Some people think we make the best tacos in the country. Talented chefs pepper Midtown and the suburbs. It’s hard to find something that doesn’t taste good here. Sorry, Philly. You’re offering us melted cheese and shredded meat on a hoagie roll? No thanks.

Daniel Pearson: We have James Beard award winning chefs, iconic local favorites, Reading Terminal Market, and Passyunk Avenue. You can dine on cuisine from Ethiopia to Indonesia and everywhere in between. Kansas City has great barbecue, but this is like comparing the Phillies and the Omaha Stormchasers.

Yvette Walker: Eight Kansas City area restaurants and bars are James Beard Award semifinalists this year. Philadelphia has a great list of finalists as well, but though we can compete among the best, let’s talk plainly. KC barbecue can best a Philly cheesesteak any day of the week.

Toriano Porter: In 2019, when I was in Philly for the Roots Picnic, the first thing I did was hail a ride to South Philly for a sammich. I was not disappointed. More than five years later, my life changed when I tried a cheesesteak from Tay’s Cheesesteak in North Kansas City. My lord, the steak sandwiches from Philly cannot compare. Tay’s menu features grass-fed steak and hand-cut fries. This place would give one of Philly’s most iconic eateries a run for its money.

Tell us stories that show why your city’s fans are superior.

Lisa Gutierrez: I belong to a private Facebook group with more than 58,000 members called Chiefs Chicks. These women discuss the rules, players, coaches, stats. They have also created a happy place where women feel free to share hype videos, memes, GIFs, pictures of their elaborate Chiefs-inspired nail art, their “chick caves” and cute kids wearing Chiefs gear. They warn each other about ticket scams, share advice to out-of-town fans such as parking fees at Arrowhead Stadium and how to dress for winter games. This week some members are in New Orleans and posting photos from pre-Super Bowl fan activities. Here at home they’re party planning and, no kidding, painting Chiefs motifs on rocks. I’m happy to have found such a kind, warm community.

Will Bunch: Here’s the big problem I have with you red-garbed tomahawkers of the Midwest. You’re too nice. On Oct. 2, 2005, my then-10-year-old son and I won a charity raffle prize of a weekend trip to watch the Birds play the Chiefs in what was then Arrowhead Stadium. We found ourselves in the upper deck at Arrowhead, two tiny green dots in a sea of red. Would they really go after my 10-year-old in his newly purchased McNabb jersey? That’s what Eagles fans would do, after all. After a few anxious minutes, Chiefs’ fans started engaging us. We were under assault — by Missouri Nice! Why weren’t you throwing pieces of brisket at us? Where were the ugly chants, the angry mob? Kansas City fans, it turns out, are impossible to hate, and so we hate you for that.

Let’s talk about Taylor Swift.

Editor’s note: Does her love story with Travis Kelce give Kansas City the edge, or will her heart lean toward her roots in the City of Brotherly Love?

Lisa Gutierrez: Dream on, Philadelphia, if you think Pennsylvania native Taylor Swift would cheer for the Eagles now that she is the de facto queen of Kansas City. Even her dad, Scott Swift, a well-known and longtime Eagles fan, wears red Chiefs gear now.

At Super Bowl festivities in New Orleans, Swift’s boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, told reporters that Swift will “be all for the Chiefs this time around, for sure.” Yup. She’s one of us now.

When she and Kelce dine at a local restaurant, fans want to eat there, too. Swift fans buy tickets to home games just to breathe the same air if she shows up. Kansas City has already won. Call it TayVoodoo. It’s a Swiftie thing. That’s the karma that comes people’s way depending on how they treat Swift.

Like her? You reap good TayVoodoo. Hate her? Bad karma’s gonna punish you.

Luis Carrasco: C’mon, America is already divided enough to start thinking about pitting Swifties against each other. As far as I’m concerned, Swift can stand by her man (that’s one of her songs, right?) and keep her Philly bona fides. As far as TayVoodoo, if Swift’s magic were real — voodoo or otherwise — the Eagles would be receiving their post-Super Bowl White House invite from President Kamala Harris instead of getting the cold shoulder from the Oval Office’s current occupant.

Lisa Gutierrez is a reporter at The Star. David Helling is a former editorial board member at The Star. David Mastio is a national opinion editor for The Star and McClatchy. Joel Mathis is a contributing opinion writer for The Star. Toriano Porter is an editorial board member of The Star. Yvette Walker is the Editorial Page editor for The Star.

Jenice Armstrong is a staff columnist at The Inquirer. Will Bunch is the national columnist at The Inquirer. Luis F. Carrasco is deputy opinion editor at The Inquirer. Solomon Jones is a contributing columnist at The Inquirer. Devi Lockwood is commentary and ideas editor at The Inquirer. Daniel Pearson is an editorial writer at The Inquirer.

This story was originally published February 9, 2025 at 5:06 AM.