Wrestling belts, superstitions and global appeal. Meet these members of Chiefs Kingdom
When Lamar Hunt moved his Dallas Texans to Kansas City in 1963, part of the premise was drawing from a six-state fan base.
Hip and cool and nationally admired as those early teams were, teeming with future Pro Football Hall of Famers as they played in two of the first four Super Bowls, the franchise’s brand, reach and sheer fandom has multiplied exponentially since then.
That rich history and current success, unprecedented if the Chiefs win a third-straight Super Bowl, and the deepening connection between the team and its now-vast fan base compelled The Star to spend the last few months seeking out fans emblematic of that relationship.
We found fans who show their love with gold mouthguards, wrestling belts, custom sneakers and personalized medallions, fans who travel to Arrowhead from Mexico and Switzerland, and fans with superstitions about TV sets.
Today we present five looks at those People of the Kingdom, devout fans who reflect the passion for a franchise that is more popular than ever because of all that comes with it.
Where does this kind of devotion come from?
Start with Carl Peterson’s pivotal vision in 1989 to make Arrowhead Stadium a tailgating mecca with an irresistible game-day atmosphere — one that for a decade has held the Guinness World Record for loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium with a reading of 142.2 decibels.
Catalyze that with the infinite winning ways of the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes era, not to mention the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce phenomenon, and you get a franchise maximizing its audacious aspiration to become known as the “World’s Team.”
Last month, the Chiefs joined the Golden State Warriors as the only American sports franchises to surpass more than a million followers on their official YouTube channel. And since 2019, the club’s social media footprint has increased from 4.5 million followers to 16.3 million — fifth-largest in the NFL.
No wonder the Chiefs have become seen and known around the globe.
We know this by the data, including through their recent history of games in London, Mexico City and Germany, but also anecdotally:
Over the recent past, you could find examples all over the planet. One that resounds:
In Qatar during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a 12-year-old Iranian boy asked David Pruente of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce where in the United States he was from. Told Kansas City, the boy replied, “Oh, the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes.”
But for all the farflung recognition, the abiding beauty of all this is that one thing has remained the same:
The epicenter of it all here in the heartland, where newer fans who’ve seldom experienced their team failing and older fans who appreciate the preciousness of this time and foreign visitors making pilgrimages here — even to get married — and people of every color and ethnicity gather as one.
What the Chiefs do would be hollow, even impossible, without the fans who animate and fund them and who made this the place to be 60-plus years ago — and in a whole new way now.
Here’s a snapshot of some of those People of the Kingdom, from near and far, that we celebrate as part of The Star’s ongoing series highlighting what makes Chiefs fans a special part of the team’s success and history:
Matt Courtin: ‘We’re gonna get the three-peat’
It is the best time to be a Kansas City Chiefs fan, according to Matt Courtin of St. Joseph, Missouri. And he would know.
He’s all in for Chiefs Kingdom. He has the Chiefs ink, the helmet and the gold grill to leave no doubts about his allegiance. He proudly shows off his KC arrowhead tattoo on his forearm.
The Star met Courtin last summer at the team’s training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph. He is one of the fans we interviewed as part of our People of the Kingdom series examining the fans who make supporting the team a lifestyle.
“It’s the best time in the world to be a Chiefs fan because we have the GOAT out here,” Courtin said while out in the early morning heat near the bleachers set up for fans to watch the Chiefs run through their training drills. The greatest of all time he refers to is Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, of course. Courtin says tight end Travis Kelce is also at the top of his list of favorite Chiefs players.
Courtin named off a string of Chiefs players he was looking forward to see playing in the upcoming season. Wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Hollywood Brown, running back Isaiah Pacheco, defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Leo Chanel were on his list. “I can’t name them all, man, but you know we got it. It’s stout out there this year,” Courtin said.
Along with the Chiefs helmet he was wearing and his ornate gold mouthguard, Courtin stood by the field with a replica of a professional wrestling championship belt slung over his shoulder. The giant belt has an oversized “W” on its buckle and is similar to a championship belt worn by Travis Kelce during the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parades.
For Courtin, the belt is a must in the scenario of the Chiefs winning their third championship in a row. “I gotta keep this,” Courtin said of the belt. “This is my lucky charm. You know, there’s some people who are superstitious, but I believe we’re gonna get the three-peat.”
Courtin says he’s been a Chiefs fan since his dad died in 2007. The memory of his father and his fandom are part of his fan experience which he also shares with his mother. “I have stadium seats in my house, so me and my mom every year sit in our stadium seats and watch the game,” Courtin said.
“Seeing the way that my dad struggled with the Chiefs, and then now that finally they’re the new America’s team, it just means the world to me, and I know my dad’s up there smiling down on—you know—even Norma Hunt, everyone’s smiling down on the Chiefs right now.”
Milan family: A pilgrimage from Mexico
Chiefs Kingdom has extended its reach far beyond Kansas City and the nearby states that border Missouri and Kansas.
It’s fairly common to hear the Kansas City Chiefs referred to as “America’s Team” these days and some go as far to call the Chiefs the “World’s Team.” One family of fans at the Chiefs’ St. Joseph training camp help lend credence to the idea that the little ‘ol team from Kansas City now belongs to the world.
The Milan family from Mexico City are full-on Chiefs fans. They wear the gear. They follow the players and they even dropped in to see the Chiefs practice at their training camp.
Genaro Milan and his wife Paola came to camp bedecked in Chiefs gear. They even brought their children, oldest daughter Paola, 16, who shares her name with her mother, Helena, 9, and their son Patricio, 13.
The family has another reason to visit Missouri besides cheering on the Chiefs. Their oldest daughter attends St. Paul Lutheran High School in Concordia, Missouri.
At camp, mom Paola showed off her ring with likenesses of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift on it. She also wears Patrick Mahomes’ #15 jersey in the form of earrings and a friendship bracelet with Mahomes name on it.
Patricio held a poster that let everyone know they were not local Chiefs fans in hopes of getting the attention of Mahomes and maybe an autograph.
Speaking Spanish while holding the neon green sign written in English with the message “Mahomes we come from Mexico 2 see U” Patricio talked about his family’s love of the Chiefs.
“We watch them play at family reunions with my grandparents, and every Sunday, we’re watching the games and cheering the Chiefs. We fell in love with the team,” Patricio said.“I admire Patrick Mahomes a lot, and I’ve heard he’s a humble person. That’s why we brought this sign for him to see, hopefully he reads it, maybe signs a ball, and takes some photos with us.”
While her brother was trying to get the attention of the team’s superstar quarterback, Helena ran along the hillside where fans watch the action on the practice field with the Mexican flag fluttering behind her.
In Spanish, Genaro tells of how his family likes to imitate Patrick Mahomes’ distinctive voice while he barked out the quarterback’s familiar snap cadence.
Mother Paola says she admires the fan base her family has become a part of. ”We love seeing all the fans wearing their jerseys, whether there’s a game or not. Fans here wear their jerseys with pride,” she said.
Tommy Watson: Longtime fandom pays off
There is some technology involved in this longtime Kansas City Chiefs fan assuring his team wins.
Kansas City resident Tommy Watson admits to having superstitions about what must be done to assure a Chiefs victory for any given game. The win centers around electronics.
What electrons have to be flowing for the universe to grant the Chiefs a win according to Watson? Televisions, lots of them. And throw in a Playstation game console for good measure.
Watson, spotted in an oversized Chiefs hat, along with his Chiefs jersey and wearing a giant red chain with a Chiefs logo dangling from it at the summer training camp in St. Joseph, talked about what it takes to help his team win.
“I have like four 55-inchers (televisions) and every single one of them has to be on the Chiefs game,” Watson said about his game day superstitions. “ I turn my Playstation on and simulate the game on that while the game is going. And of course I’ve got to have food and such.”
Whether or not his rituals are helping the Chiefs build their dynasty, Watson says now is the time that longtime fans get to reap the benefits of sticking with the team for decades. He doesn’t knock recent fans for jumping on the Chiefs bandwagon but he says fans who have been loyal for years can appreciate the success the team is having now more than the newer fans.
With no hesitation, Watson is confident the Chiefs will win their third consecutive Super Bowl.
Swiss Chiefs fans: No tailgating in European soccer
Switzerland has a history of taking a neutral stance in international conflicts. That policy apparently isn’t shared by its citizens when it comes to taking sides in the NFL.
Swiss NFL fans Miklos Vidak, Gabriel Sarkany and his brother Peter Sarkany were spotted in the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium during tailgating activities before the Kansas City Chiefs’ game with the Cincinnati Bengals. Vidak and the Sarkanys have definitely taken sides when it comes to the NFL. They are all in with the back to the back Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
The trio of fans traveled more than 6,500 miles to see the Chiefs play at Arrowhead where Gabriel Sarkany explained how he caught the Chiefs fandom bug from Vidak who has been a fan since 1995. For Gabriel, their trip to Arrowhead was the first time to get in on tailgating.
“It’s the first time I’ve had the experience of tailgating. We don’t know that in Europe, in soccer. Though I’m a big soccer fan, tailgating and the fan atmosphere is something which is really unique and you see the entire family preparing for that weekend.” Sarkany said. “It doesn’t matter if your a Chiefs fan, Bengals fan or whatever. It’s a very friendly atmosphere.”
Tammy “Whamms” Allen: A fan to top all fans
When it comes to Kansas City Chiefs superfans, Tammy “Whamms” Allen may top the list.
Allen was spotted at one of this season’s home games decked out in a rhinestone-covered Chiefs ball cap while wearing a large acrylic Chiefs arrowhead logo hanging around her neck on a thick, red chain personalized with her nickname “Whamms.”
Along with a Chiefs jersey, she wore sneakers with custom painted scenes showing various moments in the Chiefs’ modern era of winning. She also wore a custom medallion with her likeness. Engraved on the back of the medallion are the words “Kansas City Chiefs SuperFan #1.”
She undoubtedly looks the part of a Chiefs superfan but her dedication goes far beyond her team bling.
Allen, a native of Atchison, Kansas, who moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, nine years ago, says she has attended 11 to 12 Chiefs regular season games for each of the team’s past four seasons. She even traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, for the game there in 2023.
In the past four years she says she’s made it to all of their playoff games and to their last three Super Bowl appearances and she wasted no time booking her trip for this year’s Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Allen says when Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes says he’s going to do something, he’s going to do it. That’s why when she heard Mahomes say that he wants a three-peat she immediately made her plans.
“I was like, oh, we’re going, we’re going to the Super Bowl,” Allen said.
When asked, Allen didn’t have to think too hard about what it means to her to be a Chiefs fan.
“As for me, a superfan of the Chiefs, everything,” Allen said. “It means that we show class. We have integrity. We have dignity. We do it in style. We do it right and we do it from our heart.”