HOUSTON– Kansas City fans flocked in on planes, trains and automobiles from Mexico to Canada, from Alaska to South Carolina and everywhere in between watch the Chiefs win their first playoff game since 1994.
Jan. 9, 2016; Houston; Chiefs fans tailgate outside of NRG Stadium. (Credit: Amie Just)
There were grill masters from Louisiana, season ticket holders from San Diego and casual fans from Quebec, Mexico and Mobile, Ala. just to name a few.
It took John Daly, of North Pole, Alaska, two days to get to Houston.
“I drove to Seattle, hopped on a plane, flew to Dallas, saw some old buddies and came to Houston,” Daly said.
What would compel him to do such a thing? His devotion for the team.
“I’ve been a Kansas City Chiefs fan since they started,” Daly said. “I love the Chiefs. I love the ball team. I love the Kansas City area. I love everything about KC.”
Some fans drove a minibus down from Lake of the Ozarks, Mo., to the game and had friends from all over the country join them.
“We have my buddy Gary with us from Louisiana,” Randy Moseley said. “We have people from here there and everywhere. We’re having a big time.”
Even high school students from Silver Lake, Kan., wanted to get in on the action and drove down the night before, granted some plans were changed last minute.
“We were going to go to Oklahoma to visit a friend,” Drake McMillan said. “We left and we called him and he said ‘I forgot you guys were coming,’ and he was out of town. We were like ‘well, we already have our bags packed, might as well just go to the Chiefs game. So, we bought tickets.”
McMillan and his friend Zach Boyd bought tickets in the end zone three rows up.
“If we’re going to drive down here, we’re going to spend the money for some good tickets,” McMillan said.
Fans of young and old came out to see the Chiefs play.
One on the younger side, Elio Celentino from San Diego, told his dad he wanted to see the Chiefs play for Christmas.
And he sure got his wish.
“He asked me for Christmas that he wanted the Chiefs in the playoffs,” Chris Celentino, Elio’s father, said. “I didn’t understand that that meant he wanted to go to the playoffs. So when dad says ‘sure, I want them in the playoffs too,’ that’s what we ended up with. He snuckered me for a ticket.”
James Howe, a season ticket holder from Lee’s Summit, Mo., drove 12 hours to Houston.
“We left at two in the morning Friday,” Howe said. “We took about four stops and got here at two o’clock. And we went out and partied. I got two hours of sleep.”
It didn’t matter the distance for the Chiefs fans. All they wanted was for the Chiefs to win.
And they sure did.
“It was worth it,” Howe said. “Anything for the Chiefs.”
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Amie Just is a contributing writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach her or find her on Twitter: @Amie_Just.
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