Police repurposed the white chairs used by the VIP crowd at the Union Station post-parade rally celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl victory to spell out “KC STRONG”.
There’s a vigil tonight at a park between Union Station and Children’s Mercy Hospital (which is only a couple of blocks away).
At least for some:
[OOPS! I forgot. Here’s a link to the cute Turkey Day cartoon:]
And while Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade has been scaled back because of COVID, they did add one new balloon thanks to Sacha Borat and Rudy Giuliani:
It’s been 50 long years in coming, but I think my Kansas City Chiefs gave America a Super Bowl super show!
Of course I couldn’t hear it, but I’ve been told it started off with a powerful rendition of our national anthem by Demi Lovato:
And the halftime show with Jennifer Lopez and Shakira has gotten rave reviews. If you want to enjoy it again, here it is:
And TC provided a great Highlights Reel of the game that you can enjoy:
But sadly, it did not include my favorite play.
Since the Super Bowl has no “Tomorrows”, teams tend to pull out all the stops. And one pulled out by the Chiefs featured some of the best dance moves we’ve seen – comparable to the Temptations or Four Tops … or if you’re young enough, your favorite Boy Band.
After lining up in normal formation, QB Mahomes and the rest of his backfield executed a dazzling synchronized 360-degree spin to realign themselves causing confusion for the 49ers. And then, rather than the snap going to Mahomes, it went to Damien Williams who power-plowed for a 4-yard gain – and a first down. Two plays later, Mahomes ran it into for the TD!
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) February 3, 2020
And from a different angle:
Chiefs or the Backstreet Boys? pic.twitter.com/MUNyqtvD8R
— rone’s gamblin corner (@_rone) February 3, 2020
But as the adage goes, “Everything old is new again”. And there’s a very interesting backstory to this play.
The play came during a fourth-and-one on the 49ers’ 5-yard line. But its inspiration was from 71 years previous: In the Michigan-USC 1948 Rose Bowl game. Take a look:
Pretty cool. Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy said they stole that first TD play from Michigan in an old Rose Bowl vs. USC. I looked, and yep. This is from New Year's Day 1948. Fritz Crisler = visionary pic.twitter.com/bcWp5BEf0h
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) February 3, 2020
And compare them side-by-side:
Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy says he got this play design from watching this old Rose Bowl game. Michigan ran it over & over in a 49-0 win over USC pic.twitter.com/0uGYxxUnST
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) February 3, 2020
After the game, Coach Reid shared the backstory: “My brother’s high school coach was actually in that game for USC, so I had a little bit of tape. We went back through and pulled that out.”
Then Coach Reid teased us with a little sneak preview: “We actually have a whole package of it, so you’ll have to wait until next year to see the rest. There’s some good stuff.”
I’m looking forward to that already!
Wednesday was Chiefs Parade Day, and despite a windchill temp in the teens and snow flurries, there were still hundreds of thousands that lined the parade route down Grand Avenue …
Ending at Union Station for speeches and cheers. (If only we could get rid of that unfortunate arm chop.)
Fans gather for a rally in front of Union Station after a parade through downtown Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs victory in the NFL’s Super Bowl 54. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) ORG XMIT: MOCR109
Unfortunately, Kansas City was subjected to a bit of unscheduled excitement about 4 hours before the parade started when someone breached the parade barricades shortly after 8:00 AM, and decided to beat the crowds with a tour of the parade route himself. He was pursued in a low-speed chase by the local constabulary, and fortunately the crowds lining the route were sparse at the time.
This is really incredible work by @41actionnews. pic.twitter.com/6CFGN97rta
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) February 5, 2020
It ended safely, but I shudder to think what could have happened.
That wasn’t the only mishap. An over-eager fan was taken out by a parking meter when trying to catch a QB Mahomes pass. And there’s a zoom shot of it in slow-mo in the Tweet right below:
slowmotion of the parking meter tackle … pic.twitter.com/mL3obbZRLQ
— René Bugner (@RNBWCV) February 6, 2020
One of the most memorable moments for me was the pure joy shown by DE Derrick Nnadi making a “Confetti Angel” after their victory.
But Nnadi didn’t let his joy end on the field or in locker room, because when he got back to KCMO he agreed to continue his work with the KC Pet Project through his charity foundation by paying the adoption fees (generally around $150) for every adoptable dog in their shelter on Super Bowl Sunday! That was over 100 dogs!
The perfect way to cap off this great season ‼️ https://t.co/k9KSt05gtt
— Derrick Nnadi 🇳🇬 (@DerrickNnadi) February 3, 2020
He has been working with the KC Pet Project all year, paying the adoption fee of a particularly difficult dog to place after every KC Chiefs victory – so that would be 15 times prior to the Super Bowl.
And he hasn’t limited his charitable work to just finding Forever Homes for dogs – he’s also been helping people and kids in KCMO as well as the community where he grew up, in Virginia Beach, VA.
According to the NFL Players Association, which named Nnadi its first Community MVP this season for his philanthropy work, he gave 10 kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia backpacks filled with school supplies and a note offering them his best wishes for the upcoming academic year. He also surprised 10 children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City with a back-to-school shopping spree at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
In addition, Nnadi paid for a similar shopping excursion for a family of three children who lost their mother in a mass shooting in Virginia Beach in May.
“I’ve never been a champion before, all the years of me playing football. But that first time [Sunday] honestly feels like the best day of my life,” Nnadi said.
Trust me, Mr. Nnadi – you are a True Champion! And the shelter reports that the adoption rate has doubled since Super Bowl Sunday. Now that’s a definite Win-Win-Win: Nnadi-KCMO-Dogs!
So, on the second day of the second month in the year 2020, Coach Andy Reid notches his 222nd career victory (seems like there’s a theme there) – and finally earns his much-deserved Super Bowl ring!
Congratulations to Andy Reid, his staff, the Kansas City Chiefs team and its front office! A totally professional organization from top to bottom! You have made Kansas City very proud!
Now do it again next year!