Sam McDowell

One of the first people you’ll see in the Frankfurt airport? Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

There are multiple Patrick Mahomes advertisements in the Frankfurt, Germany airport.
There are multiple Patrick Mahomes advertisements in the Frankfurt, Germany airport. The Kansas City Star

The Star’s Chiefs coverage team has landed in Germany, and for those of us making our first trip to Europe, at least part of the intrigue is the chance to experience a difference in culture.

But first? A similarity.

Really similar.

After landing in Frankfurt early Thursday and walking into the airport, one of the first people I saw:

Patrick Mahomes.

The airport houses a Hugo Boss store, which features Mahomes and others as part of a digital video advertisement outside the front glass. (Mahomes filmed a black-and-white commercial for the fashion company earlier this year.)

This ad sits smack-dab in the middle of the airport.

Just outside the exit, there’s another one.

A more predictable one.

Mahomes is on a digital poster for Adidas, an original and prominent sponsor. The tagline: Three stripes, two rings, one icon.

There are multiple Patrick Mahomes advertisements in the Frankfurt, Germany airport.
There are multiple Patrick Mahomes advertisements in the Frankfurt, Germany airport. Sam McDowell The Kansas City Star

So as the NFL tries to grow the sport in Europe by sending games overseas, and as the Chiefs grow their brand in Germany, their star player is already there. The stardom, apparently, is worldwide.

The Chiefs play the Dolphins at Deutsche Bank Park on Sunday (8:30 a.m. CST). It will be the first regular-season NFL game played in Frankfurt.

After a practice at their own facility in Kansas City on Thursday, the Chiefs were to head to Germany. The Dolphins arrived earlier in the week.

Sam McDowell
The Kansas City Star
Sam McDowell is a columnist for The Star who has covered Kansas City sports for more than a decade. He has won national awards for columns, features and enterprise work. The Headliner Awards named him the 2024 national sports columnist of the year.
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