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.
Originally Posted by Kiimosabi:
What part of LA do you live in? I'm in Studio City and my feelings are:
There are shit tons of Chiefs fans. Three bars in my area are overflowing with red.
There are shit tons of Rams fans.
There are no Chargers fans.
As for people not caring about putting on sports at a party, well you nailed that one. Most transplants here are theater majors, after all.
Redondo Beach - but I did live in Valley Village for a while. I told people I lived in N. Hollywood because Valley Village sounds so lame. My roommate told people she lived in Studio City, because she wanted to sound posh.
I was actually at the game last week at Jalapeno Pete's - that was a blast. Although my dumbass buddy thought 1.5 hours early would be good enough to get a seat. Then he proceeded to drink $300 worth of high-end tequila shots between he and his gf and was a walking zombie by halftime. I spent the whole 4th Q worrying he was going to puke on himself, or me. Dude is coming over to my place this weekend. Fucking hell.
I saw plenty of people dressed in Rams gear at the game vs. the Chiefs, but I know one Rams fan in real life here that I can think of who actually gives a shit.
The rest are the kind who will watch the game and kind of identify as a Rams fan since they have no other fandom, or they have some kind of dual-fandom with their hometown team. If the Rams win next week they'll be excited about watching them at a Superbowl party. If the Rams lose they'll get over it in about 5 minutes.
I've tried to become a fan of teams out here. Can't do it. Nothing sticks but the Chiefs and Royals, which I couldn't shake if my life depended on it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
They didn't come here sincerely to warn us about the evils of Herm. They came here to laugh at us, under the guise of warning us about the evils of Herm. It was the most patronizing, passive-aggressive BS I've ever read on an Internet message board. It was literally the worst time ever here. Possibly the Alex Wars of the last few years were worse, but I was vacationing in Switzerland for a lot of that.
The Alex wars made the Peeholi wars look like 2 days of shitty trolling from Baltimore fans before beating their asses.
Originally Posted by :
It was really only two. Haley wasn't a cast-off from New England and with the Arizona thing, a lot of us were actually hopeful. Yeah, the Patriot fans were kind of annoying and patronizing but you have to remember, after the 2 years of Herm, a lot of us thought Pioli was the freaking 2nd coming!
This week hit up Thirsty Merchant. It's close to Pete's but nicely handles the overflow. Drinks and your tab aren't a problem. If you see a devastatingly handsome Chiefs fan, that's me. [Reply]
Originally Posted by big nasty kcnut:
I don't want no bandwagon fans except from outside the u.s. They need to be shown the way of the chiefs!
I gotta' disagree; every time a bandwagon Donkey fan leaves them and becomes a Chiefs fan, that's the earthly equivalent of Jesus finding his lost sheep:
All the American ex-pats out here are rooting for the Chiefs. My two best friends are from New Zealand and South Africa. They are happy for me but could care less about what they call “wuss” ball. The kiwi will quickly change the subject to talk about the all blacks national rugby club. [Reply]
Originally Posted by underEJ:
I work with tons of transplant football fans, and quite a few Rams fans in LA. Office to my left, Colts fan. Across the hall, one Rams, one Bears, and one Lions fan. Our work team is really split across the whole NFL. Nearly everyone would like the Chiefs to win, and they unanimously love Mahomes. Only ever had one Patriot fan here, but he got fired a couple of years ago for taking upskirt photos of women in the lunch line and under meeting tables. Good riddance, he was also predictably insufferable.
My office has an Eagles fan, a Cowboys fan and everyone else seems kind of ambivalent. The millennials I work with talk about gaming the way my generation talks about sports.
Out of curiosity - let's say the Rams lose a heartbreaker on Sunday - how depressed do you think the Rams fans in your office would be, as compared to the average Chiefs fan? [Reply]
oh the (LA) Rams fans will be totally fine. I mean, then again LeBron is playing for the Lakers. It won't be hard to switch right over to paying attention to that.
Originally Posted by suzzer99:
Redondo Beach - but I did live in Valley Village for a while. I told people I lived in N. Hollywood because Valley Village sounds so lame. My roommate told people she lived in Studio City, because she wanted to sound posh.
I was actually at the game last week at Jalapeno Pete's - that was a blast. Although my dumbass buddy thought 1.5 hours early would be good enough to get a seat. Then he proceeded to drink $300 worth of high-end tequila shots between he and his gf and was a walking zombie by halftime. I spent the whole 4th Q worrying he was going to puke on himself, or me. Dude is coming over to my place this weekend. ****ing hell.
I saw plenty of people dressed in Rams gear at the game vs. the Chiefs, but I know one Rams fan in real life here that I can think of who actually gives a shit.
The rest are the kind who will watch the game and kind of identify as a Rams fan since they have no other fandom, or they have some kind of dual-fandom with their hometown team. If the Rams win next week they'll be excited about watching them at a Superbowl party. If the Rams lose they'll get over it in about 5 minutes.
I've tried to become a fan of teams out here. Can't do it. Nothing sticks but the Chiefs and Royals, which I couldn't shake if my life depended on it.
Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic:
All the American ex-pats out here are rooting for the Chiefs. My two best friends are from New Zealand and South Africa. They are happy for me but could care less about what they call “wuss” ball. The kiwi will quickly change the subject to talk about the all blacks national rugby club.
My salty sea captain buddy from New Zealand hosted an All Blacks watching party the year they lost to Aussie in the final (whatever it's called). Game started at midnight in LA so of course he was already trashed by game time.
When they lost he went into his room and came out in his underwear with a loaded spear gun. We had a few tense moments there getting him to calm down. [Reply]
My buddies had a house in Palms I think that they dubbed CCA - Culver City Adjacent.
But really - try meeting some chick at a party - "Where do you live?" - "Valley Village". Yeah that'll get the panties flying off. I live in North Hollywood baby. It's gritty, and kinda dangerous, like me. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate:
I'll take this. True, too. On every count. :-)
Can't tell how many times die hard Denver fans who have come up to me and said, "even though Mahomes is a Chief and we have to go against him 2wice a year now, I really like the kid and he is fun to watch and we are definitely screwed for the next 10-15yrs for sure".
My reply: "Well it's our turn now, for you to watch and feel what it was like being a Chiefs fan during the Elway years".:-) [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJay23:
In Central PA I'm surrounded by mostly Steelers fans but the number of Eagles fans (or people who say they always were Eagles fans) has gone way up of course. Eagles fans still really do love Andy Reid, at least the ones I know. But Steelers fans think we're cute and harmless since we never threaten them for anything.
My girlfriends family are from New York so they are Bills fans. They are bitter about football in general but are polite about the Chiefs to my face. I know for a fact that they they are jealous though.
The main thing I encounter as a middle school teacher is that kids mostly root for whoever is in style. There were a lot of Patriots fans when Brady was young and they won their first few Super Bowls in the early oughts. Not so many of them anymore. There are a TON of Giants fans amongst the kids because of ODB initially and now because Saquon being that a lot of them are Penn State fans. Also, Henry Hynoski is from a nearby town and he played on that 2011 Giants team. There are a lot of Broncos fans, and an odd number of Seahawks fans mainly because I think they like the colors but they also like Manning and Wilson. I have noticed one kid wearing a Mahomes shersey recently and some comments about Mahomes when they see my Chiefs pennants hanging in my room. The main thing with these kids though is if you lose one game, "aw the Chiefs suck, they lost to the Chargers." Dealing with 13 year olds after your team loses is a pain in the ass.
