Cameras click, questions fly as Chiefs officially kick off Super Bowl at Opening Night

The Super Bowl’s glittery curtain was officially raised Monday evening in Miami. And for the first time in 50 years, the Kansas City Chiefs took center stage.

Superstar Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes didn’t waste time planting KC’s flag at the carnival-like “Opening Night” event for fans and media at Marlins Park. Asked what he hopes to accomplish in South Florida, where the Chiefs will play the San Francisco 49ers Sunday, the reigning NFL MVP had a ready-made answer:

“Get one for Coach Reid. Get one for Kansas City.”

Let the fun begin.

With kickoff for Super Bowl LIV at nearby Hard Rock Stadium still six days away, it seemed like most of the week’s 6,000 credentialed media were in attendance Monday. The Chiefs paraded onstage a little after 6 p.m. Central to cheers from the crowd of ticketed spectators, then sat down to face the cameras or strolled the floor of the Miami Marlins’ baseball stadium.

Mahomes, coach Andy Reid and other marquee Chiefs took questions patiently. One person assigned to cover Monday’s event brought a fishing rod (why, exactly, was unclear). Another dressed as a convincing young Andy, how Reid appears in famous images from his youth when he won a Punt, Pass & Kick competition looking several sizes larger than his competitors.

After about an hour, the Chiefs filed out and the 49ers’ star turn followed.

But for the thousands of Chiefs fans in attendance and watching live on NFL Network, this night was all about Kansas City’s red and gold. Asked his most cherished memory, Mahomes must have made their hearts sing when he said it was being drafted by the Chiefs.

This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 7:52 PM.