Born in Broncos country, he’s bringing KC Chiefs to New Mexico, one generation at a time
Editor’s Note: This is a dispatch from our Red Kingdom Road Trip. We’re connecting with Chiefs fans across the country ahead of the Super Bowl — share your story with us using this form. Read more from our journey to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl here on KansasCity.com, in our newsletters, or on The Star’s Instagram.
Out in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we’re deep in Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos territory, according to one Chiefs fan who’s lived here since 2007.
But Sam Romero, who grew up a Chiefs fan despite being raised in a family of Broncos supporters, said those allegiances are starting to shift.
“[Chiefs fandom] has definitely exploded in the past couple of years,” Sam said. “There weren’t a lot [of Chiefs fans] here before, but now the Chiefs are everywhere. There’s a lot more Chiefs gear sold around. I’m even seeing more Chiefs fans at church.”
It’s even happening within the confines of Sam’s own family. When he married now-27-year-old Jazmine Romero in 2020, Sam had one condition: She must leave her Cowboys fandom behind, and let their 2-year-old daughter root for the Chiefs alongside them.
Jazmine agreed, but with a condition of her own: Sam and Elise have to cheer for the Texas Rangers in return.
“When we started dating, I told her, ‘I’m not big on baseball so whichever team you want me to follow, I’ll follow, but this is a non-negotiable. You cannot be a Cowboys fan,’” said Sam, who works as a paramedic with Jazmine.
The two even celebrated their honeymoon in true Chiefs fashion, attending their first game at Arrowhead Stadium in 2021, which was a thrilling win over the Cleveland Browns.
“It wasn’t my first choice — but it was fun,” Jazmine said, while holding Elise, their two-year-old daughter who was proudly sporting a Patrick Mahomes jersey and a red-and-gold hair bow.
To which Sam replied, “She always said, ‘I was really hoping they win because if they didn’t, that’d be a pretty bad honeymoon.”
The couple said they fell in love with Kansas City after the trip, so much so they briefly considered moving to the KC metro. But with no other family in the area and a little girl on the way, he decided to hold off.
It won’t be long before Sam and Jazmine are back in town, though, he said.
“We’re actually planning our next trip to Arrowhead. We want to make it a yearly thing,” Sam said.
A father-daughter tradition
Eastwood Tachias was born into Chiefs Kingdom. Her dad, Jude, has been a fan since the ‘80s, ever since he saw Hall-of-Fame linebacker Derrick Thomas on his TV one day.
So for Eastwood — who’s named after Clint Eastwood — there was no other choice but to don the red and gold, even as a “born and bred” New Mexico resident. As she grew older, she started getting more into the fandom and the game itself, religiously dedicating her Sundays to watching the Chiefs with her dad.
“Now every Sunday during football season, I’m like, ‘don’t call me, don’t text me, if you’re not watching the game with me, you’re not going to hear from me,’” Eastwood, 20, said when we met her and her family at The Local Brewhouse in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.
She attended her first game with her dad at Arrowhead Stadium last year, on Christmas Eve — “the best day of [her] life,” she laughs.
The most rewarding part, Eastwood says, is the fans and the community that comes with rooting for KC. She’s connected with people over Facebook and met new family friends. She even met a Chiefs fan over Instagram who lives in Argentina.
“Chiefs Kingdom, no matter what state you’re from — even if you’re in another country — is just, we’re all family,” she said.
Eastwood is currently going to school to be a pilot. Her dream? To one day fly for the Kansas City Chiefs.
From KC to the desert
When she moved to New Mexico five years ago, 51-year-old Shannon Jones wasn’t sure if she’d find her people. Jones’ parents were Chiefs season ticket holders, and growing up in Westwood, Kansas, being a part of Red Kingdom was “bred into [her.]”
“I had no idea that it was Denver territory,” Jones said. “Back when I first moved here in 2012, the Chiefs were not so great. So a lot of people gave me some hard trouble.”
Then, she joined a Facebook group dedicated to the Chiefs. Now, she meets fellow fans at bars to watch games, or attends potlucks, or stops at friends’ houses to tune in to the game. (Down here, sometimes it’s hard to catch the Chiefs on cable, several fans told The Star. “They’ll bump us for the Broncos,” Jones sighed.)
“It’s been a lot of fun to meet people,” she said. “There’s new people that have moved here recently, and then there’s a lot of people who grew up here who are Chiefs fans.”
Morris and Chris Andrews discovered that same warm welcome when they moved to Albuquerque from the Northland last April.
The couple had been season ticket holders for the last 19 years.
“We found this Facebook group, and then this bar,” said Chris, who’s 61. “It’s really felt like a mini Chiefs game every time we’re here.”
Join the Red Kingdom Road Trip
We want to highlight how much fans across the country love the Chiefs, because we know how much they mean to Kansas City. So, help us find you along the way to the Super Bowl. Share your story here.
Keep following our trip here on KansasCity.com and on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Here’s where we’ll be stopping over the next several days:
- Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday, Feb. 8
- Sedona, Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 9
- Flagstaff, Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 9
- Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Feb. 9
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
