Chiefs fan who was leveled by a parking meter: ‘I took a professional NFL hit’
LaRue Bell arrived Thursday at his job with National Beef Leathers in St. Joseph feeling a little sore.
He noticed that his coworkers were laughing at a video that went viral from Wednesday’s Chiefs’ championship parade when one looked over at Bell.
“Hey, that’s you.”
“I hit it pretty hard,” Bell told The Star in a phone interview. “I took a professional NFL hit for that ball. That was my Super Bowl.”
While lying supine on the sidewalk, Bell’s 11-year-old daughter arrived at his side.
“Hey dad, did you get knocked out?” Bell said she asked. “Are you OK?”
He wasn’t injured, but the impact shattered his wife’s phone, which was in his coat. And the ball was scooped up by another fan who sped away with the souvenir.
Bell said Mahomes’ pass was intended for him, but the defender/parking meter denied him the opportunity. The ball also hit the top of a truck. Police officers were standing in the back, Bell said.
“All they did,” Bell said, “is point and laugh.”
To be fair, it was a funny moment.
When informed that the video had more than 1 million views as of Thursday morning, Bell was stunned and said: “Really? A million people saw me?”
That number has climbed past 4 million.
While driving back to St. Joseph, Bell and his wife wondered if there was video of his, um, big moment because there were so many cameras at the parade.
The answer is obvious now, and Bell hopes the viral video will give him another chance to receive a football as a keepsake. Or dreaming big here, catch a pass from Mahomes.
Bell said he played fullback in high school and was a linebacker on a junior-college team. Although he’s 6 foot 1 and 300 pounds, Bell says he could run a pass pattern because of his 40-yard dash time.
“I can run a 5.0,” Bell said.
At age 43?
“Well, maybe it’s a 5.2.”
Regardless of whether he gets that second opportunity, Bell was glad to avoid serious injury. Even Mahomes checked in on Twitter asking about Bell’s status, asking “Yo is the dude who hit the parking meter okay?”
“It hurt, but the laughs took over everything,” Bell said. “I feel a little better than yesterday. That pole was not forgiving at all.”
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 4:34 PM.
