Tony Gonzalez on Chiefs making Super Bowl LIV: ‘The fans deserve this’
Because networks share coverage of the Super Bowl on a rotation, Fox Sports’ last broadcast of the big game was in 2017.
That was a few months before former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez joined the network, so he was already excited about being part of Fox’s coverage for Super Bowl LIV. But with the Chiefs playing the 49ers, the game means even more.
“This is my first Super Bowl with Fox and coming off the Hall of Fame (ceremony in August) and then to be able to have, you know, my team in the Super Bowl, it’s not about me, but it’s a dream come true for me to be able to call the game,” Gonzalez said Tuesday.
Since the Chiefs beat the Titans in the AFC Championship Game, Gonzalez has spent a lot of time on the phone.
He’s heard from friends made during his 12 years in Kansas City, as well as former Chiefs teammates like tight ends Bill Baber and Jason Dunn, and linebacker Shawn Barber.
“Everybody’s excited for a lot of different reasons,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously the fans, the Hunt family. It’s been too long, 50 years. Such a great organization to not have a Super Bowl (in that time), because it’s not like they’re not competitive. Marty Schottenheimer and Dick Vermeil were there. We had good teams. It’s just we’ve always come up short, and so I think if we can get over the hump this time, it’s going to be well deserved, not just for the team and the (Hunt) family, but for those fans. I mean, there they are so excited.”
That elation stems in part from decades of playoff heartache, and Gonzalez was there for a couple of particularly painful chapters.
Gonzalez, 43, twice was part of AFC West championship teams that lost in different but equally painful ways in the postseason. The 1997 team was beaten at home by the division rival Broncos 14-10 in a defensive struggle. The 2003 team lost a shootout 38-31 in the “no-punt game” against the Colts. He also was on the 2006 team that lost 23-8 to the Colts in a Wild Card game.
So while Gonzalez had 916 receptions, 10,940 receiving yards and 76 touchdowns with the Chiefs, all franchise records, that 0-3 record in playoff games makes him understand why fans are pumped about Super Bowl LIV.
“I think I do, I wanted it just as bad as them, trust me. Maybe a little bit more,” Gonzalez said. “So, you know, 12 years, obviously, we didn’t even come close (to the Super Bowl). I mean we had some good regular-season teams, but in the playoffs we were not even close to what they’re doing over there. This ain’t gonna be the last one, I don’t think. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid they’re gonna be there a couple more times before it’s all said and done.
“But the fans, they deserve this, the way they support the team. I think it is second to none for that type, no matter what, even if we were losing, they were still out there supporting us. They live and die with Chiefs, that small-town mentality, that Red Friday that they do. Kansas City is going to explode once they win ... one. It’s gonna be a special thing to watch.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 2:25 PM.
