Chiefs’ soft push into St. Louis begins with preseason telecasts

The Chiefs want to have an influence in NFL-less St. Louis market with the Rams’ move to Los Angeles. They just don’t want to be pushy about it.

“First of all we’re trying to be very respectful,” said Chiefs CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt. “There are a lot of great Rams fans in St. Louis. They’re very disappointed to lose their team. We are not proactively courting them at this point.

“Probably the best thing we can do to build base over there is go out and have a great season on the field.”

Chiefs preseason games will be on television in St. Louis, which means the first two games of the Los Angeles Rams will be beamed into their former market. Saturday, the Rams-Cowboys game will be seen nationally on ESPN. On Aug. 20, the Chiefs play at the Rams.

The Chicago Bears’ preseason games also will be televised in St. Louis. The Chiefs play at Chicago on Aug. 27.

Other organizations have expressed an interest in the St. Louis market. Hours after the relocation vote, the Indianapolis Colts tweeted a reminder “We’re only a short drive away,” from St. Louis.

Can the Chiefs assume NFL loyalties for Missouri?

“Absolutely,” said Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, attending Chiefs practice on Saturday. “The Chiefs have done a nice, soft job of beginning the introduction. They’re not trying to push themselves on (St. Louis). They’ve been really disciplined in approaching that, and I think it’s going to pay off for them.

“I think there’s an opportunity for the Chiefs and for Mizzou to expand their market share there.”

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Chiefs’ soft push into St. Louis begins with preseason telecasts."