Mahomes everywhere, Badger on sacks, Reid on sweet & sour: a Chiefs day in Miami
Spent the morning posted up at the Chiefs’ final full-on media session before Super Bowl LIV at the AFC hotel here in the Miami suburb of Aventura, the JW Marriott Turnberry Resort.
The place was packed. Wall-to-wall mics and cameras, but great access to the Chiefs’ players and coaches. As was the case the past two days, the San Francisco 49ers’ media availability was later in the afternoon. Once reporters were whisked through a vast phalanx of security and bomb-sniffing dogs (some of whom looked way too cute to be serious, like this one yellow lab that had to be just 18 months old) the fun began on this beautifully landscaped property.
Head coach Andy Reid talked first, fielding questions about the team’s readiness, his days as an assistant coach at Mizzou and Patrick Mahomes’ skills as one of the league’s best young quarterbacks. In classic Reidishness, he compared having nine grandkids to sweet and sour pork: they keep you young and make you feel old at the same time.
Tyrann Mathieu followed. The first-year Chiefs safety is already a franchise cornerstone, and if the media handed out a Most Helpful award, he would win it hands down. The Chiefs didn’t just hire a defensive back when they brought in Mathieu on a three-year contract, they secured themselves a pro’s pro in every aspect. We wouldn’t be surprised if he’s making highlight plays in a Chiefs uni for a long time to come.
Among the many interesting things Honey Badger said today, this nugget prompted me to write a story:
“I’ve been inducted into Sack Nation,” he said with a smile. “I believe I have two on the season.”
After Reid and Mathieu spoke on the small stage flanked by team VP of communications Ted Crews, it was time to fan out and visit with the rest of the Chiefs players. Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Frank Clark, Charvarius Ward and a few others sat and took questions on elevated risers; the remainder occupied round tables scattered around a huge ballroom.
All were very approachable and most seemed eager to talk about just about anything. It was a very casual and productive scene from a reporter’s point of view. Our writers and visual journalist Tammy Ljungblad have already posted some content today, and now most of us are working on additional stuff back at A-Team Central, a rented rambler in a quiet neighborhood near the Gulfstream horse track.
Columnist Vahe Gregorian is writing about Mathieu and working ahead on a Reid piece that promises to be very insightful. Beat writer Herbie Teope is writing about Hill, and counterpart Sam McDowell is pounding away at a Mahomes story that included a trip to Mahomes’ Texas hometown of Whitehouse.
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Podcast maestro Blair Kerkhoff, columnist Sam Mellinger and news reporter Katie Bernard have fanned out in pursuit of various topics down at the Miami Beach Convention Center (Mellinger has already filed a column today on Mahomes and his renewed connection with the Chiefs’ O-line — it’s about more than that, and hopefully you’ll take a moment to read it).
Our friends at The Miami Herald hit today’s news conference about Sunday’s halftime entertainment — Shakira and J-Lo — and have a lot more coming, too.
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I’ve worked in a city that’s hosted a Super Bowl (Houston), and quietly (mostly, anyway) watched from afar as the team I grew up rooting for (the Seattle Seahawks) made it to two Super Bowls and won one. But it’s quite another thing altogether to be in the heart of it all, bringing readers (you!) coverage that hopefully keeps delivering something new. The storylines are endless, but to Kansas City, some are also pretty familiar ... so the challenge really is in the telling.
My kids back home are young adults now, and they all consider themselves Kansas Citians — we’ve been here (there) almost 10 years — and, by extension, Chiefs fans. They care about the Seahawks about as much as I do knitting (NO OFFENSE TO KNITTERS). I text them updates of what we’re doing down here in Miami — I’ve finally gotten it through to them that we’re not lounging on the beach, as inviting as it looks — and I just got a reply from my daughter after sending her some photos of our time with the players that simply said “Wowwwww ... ”
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It’s a good reminder to us that what we do for a living is in fact very special, even when deadlines are bearing down and we have one more interview to gather before we can write — or edit — a story.
As our old friend and colleague Terez Paylor (who celebrated a birthday this week, as did Vahe and McDowell) always said, “We do this for you guys” — meaning y’all. He wasn’t wrong back then, when he worked for The Star, and he’s not wrong today as he writes and films and podcasts for Yahoo.
The Chiefs practice again tomorrow, with Reid talking to a pool reporter afterward, and may go through a walk-through Saturday. Herbie and I might follow the lead of what Blair did today, and visit Radio Row. There’s always someone fascinating to talk to there. Then, all the preparation and anxiety and seemingly endless press releases about Super Bowl- or Chiefs-themed products will melt away, because it will be time for kickoff.
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Our plan is to have three Star photographers in various positions during Sunday’s game in order to capture plays from all angles. The NFL had us submit names for special pre- and post-game access — they’ll allow one KC Star photographer access onto the actual field for the coin toss and one inside what’s known as “the inner circle” after the game. The inner circle sounds like something from one of those Meet the Fockers films, but it’s just a jargony term for the area in which the winning team will be celebrating with the Lombardi Trophy at around 10:30 Eastern Time Sunday night.
We’ve sorted through that — Tammy will shoot the coin flip and Jill Toyoshiba will don the official-looking vest to photograph the winners while Rich Sugg occupies a spot overhead — and now it’s time to edit more stories here in Miami.
Just know that you’re all in our inner circle. Keep thinking red-and-yellow thoughts and we’ll be back at ya Friday.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 4:08 PM.