Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens predicts Lombardi Trophy for Kansas City Chiefs

Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is no stranger to hard work, as he was a Navy Seal who served four tours — in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia.

So it makes sense that every member of the Kansas City Chiefs at training camp on Friday perked up after practice when the governor started talking about his time in the Navy, and more importantly, about hard work.

“It was great to have the governor out here today,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Right when he mentioned the Navy Seals, it had everybody’s attention.

“He gave a great talk to the guys, and I thought he did a very nice job. That’s a tough thing to do, stand in front of the players and talk, but he did a nice job.”

Greitens, who became governor in January of 2017, said he was pleased to share his stories from the Navy. And following his talk with the players, he made a prediction of something that has not happened since 1970.

“It’s fantastic to be out here with the Chiefs and with Coach Reid,” Greitens said. “I want to tell you, I am excited. I think that the Chiefs are going to be bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Missouri. I let all of the guys know that the entire state of Missouri is behind the Chiefs.”

After Missouri lost the St. Louis Rams in 2016, Greitens is confident that everyone in the state supports the Chiefs.

“First, everyone is rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs,” Greitens said. “Second, they’re rooting for whoever is playing (against) the Rams.”

This was Greitens’ first appearance at Missouri Western State University for the Chiefs training camp, but he hopes it’s not the last camp he attends within the state.

“I think it’s really important for us to grow all business in Missouri, especially when we have a fantastic team like the Chiefs,” Greitens said.

More to the point, Greitens addressed the need to keep the Chiefs in Missouri.

“There’s a lot of benefits to keeping the team in Kansas City,” Greitens said. “It brings the people together, and you can see the excitement.

“It’s important to have a strong football team in Missouri, and the Chiefs represent that.”

This story was originally published July 28, 2017 at 7:55 PM with the headline "Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens predicts Lombardi Trophy for Kansas City Chiefs."