Perception of the Chiefs outside of KC among football fans.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Based on some encounters I've been having recently, I thought it might be fun to start a thread for those of us who live outside of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska,
and the general surrounding area of the place the Chiefs call home.

What if anything are you seeing/hearing/witnessing from football fans regarding the Chiefs and their chances to beat the Pats, go to the Super Bowl, and win it all?
As a fan living well outside of the home base, it has been anything but fun in the past to try and explain why the Chiefs are a great organization despite the lack of trophies,
and why Kansas City's football atmosphere is second to none. But, as you might well imagine, the "arrowhead" is pointing WAY up,
and being a fan "out in the wild" ain't quite what it used to be.



The New Mexico Report, Albuquerque:


New Mexico is in a unique position regarding professional sports teams in that they have none, so people here who are NOT transplants from other markets have complete
free will to choose any professional football, baseball, or basketball team they like.
Sadly, many of them chose poorly and decided to be Donkey turds either because of Elway back in the day, or Manning as of late.
There is also the issue of Denver being roughly 500 miles to the north of ABQ, so that may have something to do with it as well.
The other Locos and Locas split time and fandom between Dallas( a fairly large local base ), Oakland( the next largest down though getting smaller and smaller in recent years ),
and San Francisco( a very small local fan base ).
I've been wearing my Chiefs beanie quite a bit this winter and as a result, I've had several people come up to me who want to talk football, Chiefs football.
What used to be at best a sideways look followed by "the Chiefs???", has become "The Chieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeefs, essay"( ).
The respect level is WAY up and we all know the main reason why:

Spoiler!

Um...no. Actually, it's THIS guy:



And, quite a bit of the other guy pictured as well along with Kelce. These three players are well known among the people of New Mexico that I talk to along with Chris Jones here and there.
But mainly, people want to talk about Mahomes and with good reason; he's a once in-a lifetime player that fans of the game, regardless of who their team may be, LOVE to watch play.
The main question I get over and over is, "how did you guys FIND this kid"??? And I enjoy walking them through the entire story from start to finish because it IS an amazing story,
and one that will likely not be repeated again.
Apparently, more people are aware of the playoff history of the Chiefs and between the Chiefs and the Colts than I had imagined.
I bring this up because EVERYONE that I talk to is thoroughly convinced that the Chiefs are going to not only win, but tear New England a New Asshole in this upcoming game based on the state of the team
combined with getting that Colts/playoff monkey off of our backs. Most people are a little surprised when I temper my own response and take on the game, but I understand; they are living completely in the now
while I am still weighing the past as well as not foolishly discounting B/B in the playoffs.
That said, it's cool to meet all of these people who are convinced that our team is hands-down the best in the AFC, and who have every chance in the world to win it all. Refreshing!
Also, even the fans who are not completely lovey-dovey will admit that they want the Chiefs in the Super Bowl if for no other reason than to spare them another outing from New England,
something I believe any NFL fan who is NOT a Pats fan can agree on.

And finally, the gear is coming out and starting to show up. It is not uncommon for me to see someone in a Chiefs hat or beanie, or even a full blown getup, or to see an Arrowhead sticker
on a vehicle at least once or twice a week now. That's quite a step up from when I moved here in 2011, and there was absolutely NO swag in sight for miles other than my own.

At the very least, the Chiefs are making inroads in to New Mexico and as long as Reid and Mahomes are winning games, I believe it's safe to say that we can count on quite a few new fans out here as the years roll by.

[MahiMike]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I'm a rare breed in my neck of the woods. It's all NFC North all the time (and primarily Green Bay). You basically get a "yeah the Chiefs look really good this year and have a shot," but that's about all you're going to get.

I can never get my Packer fan buddies to recognize Mahomes' greatness either. It's like they are stuck up and think there's no way anyone can compete with their history and awesome QB.

Speaking of which, you don't get more small market that Green Bay yet the media seems to elevate them to almost NY status. Why?

[Matrix]

Everyone, except for St. Louis and maybe Northeast MO as well, will be rooting for the Chiefs. Most are Bears fans and the rest won't forgive nor forget Hunt for voting lock step with Kroenke to move to LA.

[Chiefshrink]

Originally Posted by SAUTO

You can't take their phones away. At least that's what the schools here say

That's just wrong. Our society has gotten sooooooo soft even for an hour of focused class time they cannot live without their phone, huh? Just wrong.

If I were a teacher this would be the first thing I would do as they entered my class. Just have them place their phones in this box. But apparently the trial lawyers have won this argument.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by splatbass

I live in Honolulu, but work on a military base so I talk to people from all over the country all the time, fans of all different teams. Outside the AFC-W it seems most people I talk to have a positive view of the Chiefs. They love Mahomes. I've been hearing all year from people that they want the Chiefs to do well. Especially this game of course, because everyone hates the Pats, but even before. I think KC is a team that is easy to like for most, nothing offensive, no reason to hate. Saw the same when the Royals won the WS.

I wear a Chiefs lanyard so I get a lot of comments from people, but 90% are very positive.

The Chiefs have done a good job at "keeping their yard clean", so it's damn near impossible to point to KC and try to make a list of grievances, either moral or personnel-wise.

Tyreek handled his business before he was even drafted, and has proven to be a model citizen and good teammate. As much as we hated to lose him, and as shady as the circumstances were surrounding the timing and release of his tape, the Chiefs didn't waste any time letting the whole world know where they stood on Kareem Hunt's actions, either.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

I can never get my Packer fan buddies to recognize Mahomes' greatness either. It's like they are stuck up and think there's no way anyone can compete with their history and awesome QB.

Speaking of which, you don't get more small market that Green Bay yet the media seems to elevate them to almost NY status. Why?

Easy answer:

The history/Lombardi, first SB winner, and more championships than their division counterparts.

If Hank Stram had pulled off the first Super Bowl, the entire league and media might be singing a completely different song.

[InChiefsHeaven]

Two of my best friends are Donk fans, and while they grudgingly admit that Mahomes is awesome, they don't like it. That said, they both are rooting for the Chiefs to win it all this year, starting with a curb stomping of the Patriots on Sunday.

...Lord, we MUST win this game!!

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by InChiefsHell

Two of my best friends are Donk fans, and while they grudgingly admit that Mahomes is awesome, they don't like it. That said, they both are rooting for the Chiefs to win it all this year, starting with a curb stomping of the Patriots on Sunday.

...Lord, we MUST win this game!!

Have you properly schooled them on their forthcoming 15 to 20 years of insignificance? Do not neglect this important duty!

[Matrix]

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

Easy answer:

The history/Lombardi, first SB winner, and more championships than their division counterparts.

If Hank Stram had pulled off the first Super Bowl, the entire league and media might be singing a completely different song.

This.

We have a rare opportunity to make up for lost time.

[Clyde Frog]

Originally Posted by TinyEvel

There are a few Chiefs fans here in San Francisco. I just found out there’s a pretty huge Chiefs bar in the South side of Downtown.

Buzzworks. That place gets packed w Chiefs Fans. Probably go there for the Super Bowl.

There's a shit ton of Chiefs fans in SF. Obviously more now that they're good. Everyone I talk to is sick of NE and pulling for KC.

[TwistedChief]

I've got three relevant locations:

NYC: not surprising but lots of sports fans and pretty much everyone I know through work wants us to annihilate the Patriots. I know a couple Patriots fans and they engage without any real understanding of the game they're walking into. They're spoiled. After that much success, I can't blame them, but it doesn't change that I'd like to piledrive them into the ground.

San Diego: out at lunch the other day with a Chiefs hat, and multiple people gush about Mahomes and comment that they want us to destroy the Patriots. These are mostly Chargers and ex-Chargers fans.

Indiana: my wife is from Indiana. Had some harmless smack talk before the Colts game with related friends and family and they've been dispatched. They're all pulling for us now. More interesting is that my nephews in high school, all of whom had quietly laughed at my Chiefs obsession for years, are now buying Mahomes and Hill jerseys and angling to get me to plan a family trip to Arrowhead next season. This is the most amazing thing: we are the "it" team.

I told my wife recently that I'll know we've made it when the Lids in the Indy airport sells anything Chiefs. And I think we're close. Win a SB this year with a 23yr old MVP and we'll have a generation of Chiefs fans created. It's pretty ****ing cool to be THAT team.

[Chiefs4TheWin]

It's not too bad here in Steeler country. 90% of the time I get the "I don't mind the Chiefs" response.

We are getting a ton of support here though about beating the Pats. Steelers fans are more ref conscious than we are so I have to hear about refs going to help the pats conspiracies at a higher rate than the rest of the country.

Eagles fans are rooting for us too now that they are out. At least the Eagles fans I know.

[Nigerian Nightmare]

Long time lurker, never registered or posted. Decided to respond to this thread. I travel a lot for work and I was in Bermuda in late November in a taxi. Driver was Bermudian, probably in his 60s, started chatting with me and a co-worker and discovered we were from Kansas City -- he immediately starts talking about Patrick Mahomes, for probably a solid 5 minutes until he drops us off.

Flash forward 2 weeks, also traveling for work in Ireland, almost exact same situation - Irish Uber driver from the airport finds out I am from KC and launches into praise about Mahomes.

Pretty incredible how quickly he has spread and, even more surreal, that this is a Chiefs QB.

[CoMoChief]

OT - I really wish the Rams had stayed in STL.

Mentioned this in another thread, but my roomates were all Rams fans, and boy did we have some in home rivalries...this was during the KC-DV yrs Priest vs Faulk Roaf vs Pace TonyG vs Holt/Bruce...we did FFL together...really miss those fun times.

Once Rams moved to LA, they were devastated. They had a really bad decade that caused their fanbase to pretty much disappear, Linehan, Spagnuola, Martz, Fisher etc...I asked if they followed their fandom to LA, they all said piss on them. They're rooting for KC now. I've accepted their migration in good faith, although having someone to bitch at and talk shit to was a lot of fun back in the day.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

I can never get my Packer fan buddies to recognize Mahomes' greatness either. It's like they are stuck up and think there's no way anyone can compete with their history and awesome QB.

Speaking of which, you don't get more small market that Green Bay yet the media seems to elevate them to almost NY status. Why?

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

Easy answer:

The history/Lombardi, first SB winner, and more championships than their division counterparts.

If Hank Stram had pulled off the first Super Bowl, the entire league and media might be singing a completely different song.

I agree, it's all about the history. The Coach, the players, everything. They have a huge following nationwide as well.

[TwistedChief]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

OT - I really wish the Rams had stayed in STL.

Mentioned this in another thread, but my roomates were all Rams fans, and boy did we have some in home rivalries...this was during the KC-DV yrs Priest vs Faulk Roaf vs Pace TonyG vs Holt/Bruce...we did FFL together...really miss those fun times.

Once Rams moved to LA, they were devastated. They had a really bad decade that caused their fanbase to pretty much disappear, Linehan, Spagnuola, Martz, Fisher etc...I asked if they followed their fandom to LA, they all said piss on them. They're rooting for KC now. I've accepted their migration in good faith, although having someone to bitch at and talk shit to was a lot of fun back in the day.

I feel terrible for them. I can't imagine what it feels like to have your quaint midwestern team move halfway across the country to flashy LA. Has there ever been a poll on CP asking if people would still be Chiefs fans if they did the same thing? It would be absolutely heartbreaking. Not exactly sure what I would do with such conflicting emotions.

But welcome to the Kingdom, gentlemen.