Sports

SportsBeat KC: Kansas Citians, including the teams you pull for, are pulling together

Tee Sexton, who is the kitchen coordinator at Shepherd’s Center, and also delivers hot meals to needy local seniors, greets Carmen Montaro from a distance while delivering a hot meal Thursday in midtown Kansas City. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus has required drivers to keep their distance instead of venturing inside to visit and check up on the elderly recipients.
Tee Sexton, who is the kitchen coordinator at Shepherd’s Center, and also delivers hot meals to needy local seniors, greets Carmen Montaro from a distance while delivering a hot meal Thursday in midtown Kansas City. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus has required drivers to keep their distance instead of venturing inside to visit and check up on the elderly recipients. rsugg@kcstar.com

The Chiefs were down by 10 midway through the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

Remember when the Royals trailed the Astros by four in the eighth inning of a playoff elimination game?

Or Kansas being down nine with about two minutes remaining in the 2008 NCAA title game?

These teams overcame huge challenges to prevail. And now those teams and others like them — as well as people across the entire region, country and world — face a different challenge.

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has halted the games and, in some cases, championship postseasons. But many athletes have remained active during the health crisis. And so have the fans of those teams.

Sam Mellinger and Sam McDowell are two Kansas City Star sportswriters who have been covering the human side of the pandemic, sharing some uplifting stories about folks going above and beyond. We talk about the athletes and the fans on SportsBeat KC, The Star’s sports podcast.

Story links:

As pandemic spreads, an army of volunteers help, one knock on the door at a time

We’re all in this together: Coronavirus shutdown brings out the best of Kansas City

Twitter Q&A with Chiefs tackle Mitchell Schwartz

The Kansas City Star’s coronavirus coverage (no paywall)

This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 3:46 PM with the headline "SportsBeat KC: Kansas Citians, including the teams you pull for, are pulling together."

Blair Kerkhoff
The Kansas City Star
Blair Kerkhoff has covered sports for The Kansas City Star since 1989. He was elected to the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
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