Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes makes fan’s day at ‘Cue for a Cause event

Wearing red No. 15 Chiefs jersey, Colin Couch could hardly contain his excitement as his dad pushed his wheelchair down the buffet line at Mitchell Schwartz’s ‘Cue for A Cause event Monday night.

Standing behind the warming trays of barbecue, corn and brownies were members of the Kansas City Chiefs, carefully scooping out servings of the food onto the waiting plates of their grinning fans.

As his dad balanced a plate of food in one had and pushed the wheelchair with the other, Colin gestured grandly, expressing his feelings with every move of his arms and legs.

When he got to the end of the line, Colin spotted Patrick Mahomes sitting at a table just behind the buffet, quickly eating a plate of food.

Colin, who communicates mainly through his hand gestures, waved exuberantly in Mahomes’ direction, hoping to catch the quarterback’s attention in the middle of the crowded, noisy room.

The movement caught Mahomes’ eye, and he looked up and waved back.

Excitedly, Colin contorted his body, twisting to show the quarterback the name on the back of his jersey. A giant smile stretched over Mahomes’ face as he watched Colin, and he got up to walk over to him. He shook Colin’s hand and posed for a picture.

The interaction lasted just a couple of minutes, but to Colin and his family, the meeting meant everything.

“Sports has always been such a big part of his life that it’s so important to him,” said Dave, Colin’s dad. “He sees these guys as his friends, so it’s great when they actually show up and they are so giving with their time. He didn’t have to get up and do anything. But for him to come over and spend time and talk to him, that meant a lot to him. Obviously it meant a lot to us too.”

Born with cerebral palsy, Colin received treatment and therapy from the Lee Ann Britain Infant Development Center until he was 6 years old. When his parents saw Schwartz’s ‘Cue for a Cause event was benefiting the center, they knew they had to go.

“Usually at the age of three, the school district will take over, but you have the option to keep him there until he’s six and that’s what we did,” said Carlene, Colin’s mom. “It was the best thing we’ve ever done. He just turned 22, which is one year younger than Patrick Mahomes. We always try and support when they have different things because we’re so grateful.”

Moments like this are part of the reason why Schwartz enjoys hosting community events.

“I think we all strive to be more than a jersey number or a fantasy stat or something like that,” Schwartz said. “Obviously, we’ve had a really good start to the season and Pat and Trav (Kelce) and Kareem (Hunt) and all those guys. The fact that they’re able to spend their Monday night coming out here, helping me out, helping to raise some money just shows the kind of character they have.

“They don’t have to be here. I really appreciate them coming out. We’ve got a really good group of people in our locker room right now, and it’s really special.”

With his wife Brooke’s work with autistic and special needs children and the offensive line’s involvement with First Downs for Down Syndrome, Schwartz knew he wanted Monday night’s event to benefit the Lee Ann Britain Center.

In addition to money raised by ticket sales, donations, a raffle and a silent auction, there was also a live auction for aprons signed by each Chief who served the food Monday night. Two aprons signed by Mahomes went for $2000 each.

“It was really special to see the impact that center has on the kids, on the families,” Schwartz said. “Having a kid with special needs, it’s really tough on everybody, not just the kids. The Lee Ann Britain Center is great with resources for everybody, and we always knew we wanted to do some sort of Kansas City event once I got established here.”

And Colin, by the way, isn’t a stranger to serendipitous sports moments.

In August, he met Royals’ catcher Salvador Perez in the team parking lot when Perez spotted Colin, pulled his car over and gave him one of his “El Nino team” bracelets. Two weeks later, Colin received field passes to a game from Danny Duffy and got to watch batting practice. During that practice, Perez promised Colin he’d hit a home run for him that day. In the bottom of the first, that’s exactly what Perez did.

“We have such great people here in this city that represent our sports teams,” Dave said. “And they’re very genuine about it. It’s not a put on. They’re not phony about it. They’re not in it so they can get any recognition. They’re here because they appreciate their fans and they appreciate this community. So very lucky. I don’t think this happens everywhere. I really don’t.”

Brooke Pryor

Brooke Pryor covers the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL for The Star.

This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 11:25 AM.