Travis Kelce stole the show in the Chiefs’ trophy presentation. Here’s how and why
The humming came from the showers inside the Chiefs locker room, loud enough to be overheard just outside its walls. By the chorus, it turned to words, and long-snapper James Winchester emerged, smile on his face as he belted out every last syllable.
“You gotta fight,” he sung. “For your right. To paaaaaaarty.”
Someone reminded him he was singing aloud.
“Blame Travis,” he replied.
Yes, as the Chiefs received their first Lamar Hunt Trophy in 50 years, their prize for winning the AFC championship Sunday, their tight end took over.
Travis Kelce is made for these kinds of moments, really.
Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt lifted the trophy his dad never could. Coach Andy Reid asked the crowd to join a chant. Patrick Mahomes drew his own chants of MVP. Tyrann Mathieu talked up his teammates.
Then the microphone moved to Kelce.
He ignored the question. Half an hour later, he wouldn’t even remember what he’d been asked.
“I’ll tell you what,” he began in a normal speaking tone, his words broadcast over the public address system and on TV. “It’s been seven years coming, baby.”
His voice grew louder.
“I learned one thing since I been here.”
He stared down at the microphone, then reached out his right hand and grabbed it. CBS announcer Jim Nantz didn’t let go — couldn’t let go — his hand firmly lodged underneath Kelce’s grip.
“You gotta fight!” Kelce shouted.
Like a true showman, he waited on the crowd noise to catch up. Mathieu stood behind him, smile on his face. Chiefs president Mark Donovan, too.
None were sure exactly where Kelce was going with this.
“For your right!” he said, his voice now at it’s loudest pitch.
He flexed his legs and squatted, putting his full body weight into the final phrase.
“To paaaaaaarty!”
Crowd exploded. Donovan and Mathieu, too. Others on stage jumped up and down.
Nantz held the microphone as sturdy as he possible could, his arm now stretched to follow Kelce’s movements.
“Wooooo!” Kelce finished it.
Kelce didn’t explain his emotion. Didn’t need to. He’s been with the Chiefs for seven years — in case you missed that part — joining the franchise the same season as an NFL Draft pick out of the University of Cincinnati in which coach Andy Reid took over. He’s been a part of it all, the highs of four AFC West division championships and the lows of playoff agony.
So, no, the excitement needed little explanation.
But the words? The song choice?
“It just came to me, man,” he said. “Song has been in my head all day.”
There actually is a reason for that.
The Beastie Boys song is a popular pick on the Arrowhead Stadium speakers. Has been for years. The players would like to say they block all that out, but they hear it. Some swear they play it multiple times every game.
“It’s a staple here,” defensive lineman Khalen Saunders said.
“Every stadium you go to, they like certain songs,” Winchester said. “Here, that’s our song. Every game, it gets stuck in your head.”
It’s what came to Kelce in the moment. Some might have opted for something else anyway — you know, disregard the background noise in your head.
Kelce embraced it.
“That’s Travis,” fullback Anthony Sherman said. “Would you expect anything different from Travis? He’s been here since Day One. For us to get this together for Coach and the guys that have been here since 2013, it’s awesome.
“For us to do it here (at Arrowhead) and Travis to do that with that song, it’s awesome.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2020 at 8:35 PM.