Here is what Chiefs fans can expect to see on TV when watching Thursday’s opener
This will be a Chiefs season unlike any fans have known. The COVID-19 pandemic will make sure of that.
The national health crisis is causing significant changes to how fans will watch NFL games this season.
The Chiefs will allow 22% capacity at Arrowhead Stadium for Thursday’s season opener against the Houston Texans. And only those people will be allowed to tailgate. That means more fans than usual will be watching the game on television, via NBC.
Viewers likely will notice a few changes at the game. Here’s what to expect.
Raising the banner
There will be an on-field ceremony to mark the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV championship. The Chiefs said Mitch Holthus will lead the ceremony, which will include a special message from Norma Hunt, the widow of franchise founder Lamar Hunt.
This will culminate with the championship banner being raised. Fans will want to tune in at 7:10 p.m., because it will be broadcast on NBC.
National anthem(s)
Before the banner ceremony, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will be played at 6:55 p.m. According to ESPN, this is traditionally known as the “Black national anthem.”
The national anthem will be at 7:19 p.m. and be performed by the R&B group, Chloe x Halle. But they won’t be at the stadium.
Piped-in sounds
An operator at Arrowhead Stadium will push a button to create fan noise after each play. The NFL created specific sound bites culled from thousands of hours of previous games. There are specific fan sounds for a long pass, a fumble, a sack, an extra point, etc.
Those sounds will be a maximum of 80 decibels, The Associated Press reported, well below the highest crows noise ever recorded at Arrowhead Stadium (142.2, a record for an outdoor venue).
On the sidelines
Mascot KC Wolf won’t be on the sidelines. Neither will the Chiefs’ cheerleaders or sideline reporters.
“We are in what they call ‘the moat,’” CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson said, “and it is the first row of the stadium. And we have an area for just ourselves. I am told there will be other people, still photographers and other people that aren’t allowed on the sideline, in other areas of the stadium.”
Social justice messages
Players and coaches will be allowed to “honor victims of systemic racism and show their support for social justice efforts by displaying names or phrases on helmet stickers and apparel patches,” the Chiefs said. This will be the case all season.
Social media fun
The Chiefs tweeted a video of a “Showtime Cam” that will show fan texts during the game:
The end zones
There will be social justice messages in the end zones:
And the gold end zones apparently won’t be back:
Broadcast booth
CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz said there will be plexiglass between the play-by-play announcer and the game analyst. That likely will be the case for Thursday’s game, which will be called by Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, likely won’t do his pregame slide.
Jersey swaps
When the game is over, players won’t be able to trade jerseys with opponents. But they will get the chance to get one mailed to them.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 1:44 PM.
