Former Chiefs share the glow of Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champions
The Chiefs went 50 years between Super Bowl victories when they won their first of two in four years after the 2019 season. Hundreds of players in between wore the red and gold but did not feel football’s ultimate joy.
But former Chiefs said on Monday that the organization excels in keeping alumni connected to the current success.
How? A Super Bowl ring for one.
Members of the Chiefs Ambassadors, a group of about 50 former players who represent the team at charitable functions, will receive Super Bowl jewelry in an upcoming ceremony.
“That’s what this organization does, it takes care of former players,” said Deron Cherry, a six-time Pro Bowl safety and member of the All-NFL team for the 1980s.
Cherry was among about 20 former players who attended Monday’s soggy Chiefs workout at Missouri Western State University. After practice, the players introduced themselves to Patrick Mahomes and other current Chiefs, and they heard from Andy Reid on the importance of maintaining connections through the eras.
The idea of keeping the alumni involved with the organization dates back to Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt.
“He wanted to make sure there was a continuation with the legacy of the former players who were here who paved the way,” said Cherry, who spent 11 seasons with the Chiefs starting in 1981. “When I first came here it was Otis Taylor and Buck Buchanan and Willie Lanier.”
The day also provided tight end Keith Cash, who caught 118 passes over six Chiefs seasons in the 1990s, an opportunity to recall his touchdown celebration against the Houston Oilers in the 1993 playoffs, when he spiked the ball against a hanging sign depicting the face of Oilers coach Buddy Ryan.
“That’s one of the things fans remember,” Cash said. “That play — an iconic play in Kansas City (Chiefs) history.”
Cash said he’s shared the many highs and some lows with the team that has reached the playoffs nine times in Reid’s 10 seasons — and owns the NFL’s best record in that stretch.
“I live every play with those guys,” Cash said. “I watch a lot of plays at home strictly because I have to talk to the TV, call out plays, call out penalties, all that stuff.”
Cash, who works as a financial advisor in Kansas City, joked that he found the silver lining in the COVID-19 pandemic season of 2020. With empty or near-empty stadiums, “you could hear everything,” Cash said.
Cash has liked what’s he seen from these Chiefs. He marvels at the current occupant of his position, Travis Kelce.
“He’s a different cat,” Cash said. “You see him running routes and you can’t get a handle on where he’s going half the time just because of his body movements. And his relationship with Patrick, you talk about another sense they have for each other, all that stuff is true. He’s such a mismatch.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2023 at 2:33 PM.