Five reasons Chiefs fans should cheer for the Panthers in the Super Bowl

So this is it. Super Bowl 50 (or Super Bowl L if that floats your boat). It’s the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos.

Normally, there might be some AFC pride at stake in Kansas City, but alas, here are five reasons why Chiefs fans should consider rooting for the Panthers.

1. The Panthers give footballs to kids in the stands

C’mon. Your heart isn’t frozen over, right? No matter what you think of quarterback Cam Newton or any of the other Panthers, the fact that the players find kids in the stands and give them a football is great.

2. Anyone else remember when Emmanuel Sanders stiffed the Chiefs?

The Chiefs thought they had a deal with free-agent wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders after he visited Kansas City in March 2014. However, Sanders ended up signing with Denver, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported at the times that there were some hurt feelings.

“When a man gives you his word and pulls out,” one unnamed executive told Rapoport, “then gives another team your word and pulls out, then gives another team his word … not proper.”

You can’t root for someone like that to get a ring, right?

3. Whoever is running the Panthers’ Twitter account is hilarious

Before the NFC Divisional playoff game between Carolina and Seattle, actor Rainn Wilson (Dwight on “The Office”) tweeted this about his Seahawks:

The Panthers’ response?

Even Wilson had to allow that the Panthers had scorched him with that retort:

4. The Panthers are a Cinderella story

Yeah, they finished the regular season with a 15-1 record. But before the season, the Panthers were given 60-1 odds at winning the Super Bowl by CBS Sports, worse odds than the Dolphins and Lions. Bleacher Report was a bit more charitable, putting the odds at 50-1, which was tied with the Bills.

Someone is going to make a bunch of money if Carolina takes the crown.

5. You may be surprised that it took this long, but it’s the Broncos for crying out loud!

As if you didn’t like Denver to begin with, Sam Mellinger’s column should only add to your disgust for the Broncos.

It’s safe to say that many Chiefs fans are now Panthers fans.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 1:30 AM.