On the scene at B Mac’s, a French Quarter dive bar turned Chiefs red ahead of Super Bowl
There aren’t any Chiefs bars in New Orleans, not really. It’s not that big of a town.
But B Mac’s, a French Quarter dive with a courtyard out back, was humming with Kansas Citians on Saturday afternoon.
“Yes, we’re going for a three-peat, yes, it’s the Super Bowl,” said Danan Hughes, who caught passes for the Chiefs in the mid-90s and is now a broadcaster. “This is a celebration. But it’s something to have a chip on our shoulders about, too. The Eagles are trying to steal history from us. And I take that personal.”
He was speaking over a PA in the courtyard, and the crowd, a boozy sea of red, roared in response.
Hughes was not the only former Chief in the crowd. Also spotted: Christian Okoye, Chris Penn and Dante Hall. Tech N9ne had treated the assembled to a rendition of “Red Kingdom” earlier in the day.
It was part of an hours-long party that started at 3 p.m. and was hosted by an event-planning company for Chiefs fans called Chop It Up Travel Club and the Arrowhead tailgating group Lot J Tailgaters.
Fifty bucks to get in the door.
“We got a call last week asking if we’d host this thing,” said Mia Matassa, manager at B Mac’s. “I like that it was actual fans that were going to be here, as opposed to some uber-expensive event. This is a place where you can get a genuine New Orleans experience. Plus, I’d rather serve Chiefs fans than … you know.”
Among the Chiefs faithful in the house were Dennis and Susan Clark, who’d arrived in town from KC about 36 hours before. They won’t be at the Superdome on Sunday.
“This is our third Super Bowl — Phoenix, Vegas, and now here — and we still haven’t been to a game,” Dennis said. “We could spend $4,000 apiece on tickets, or we could buy these packages through Chop It Up and Lot J and party with all these fans and pay way less.”
The couple booked Southwest flights to Vegas six months ahead of the Super Bowl last year. They ran it back this year, booking their New Orleans accommodations in August.
“We keep manifesting these Super Bowls,” Susan said with a smile.
Couples Sam and Tiffany Garavaglia and Bobby and Sam Prinster drove in Thursday from St. Louis.
“We like tailgating,” Sam Garavaglia said. “A year after (the Rams) left St. Louis, the Chiefs drafted Mahomes. It couldn’t have worked out any better. So we started coming to Chiefs games — it’s an easy drive from St. Louis. We’ve been going to two or three home games a year, and one or two road games.”
They weren’t sure on the way down if they’d actually buy tickets.
“But then we got here and saw everything, and I was like, ‘We’re going,’” he said.
It wasn’t cheap: $15,000 for the four of them. They’re staying in Ocean Springs, about an hour and a half away.
“We’re at a beach house where we can walk out to the ocean,” Garavaglia said. “It’s great. I love New Orleans, I love Mardi Gras. And it’s all going to end with the Chiefs hoisting the Lombardi Trophy tomorrow. Dream trip.”
This story was originally published February 9, 2025 at 10:20 AM.
