At a time when St. Louis could be inching toward losing its second NFL franchise in less than 30 years, the other Missouri city that hosts a pro football franchise is popping the cork on a relationship that has lasted a half-century.
During a Tuesday press conference, owner Clark Hunt talked about the team’s history in Kansas City, and it’s future there. The latter was secured by the late Lamar Hunt, who negotiated upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium during the final stages of a battle with prostate cancer.
“One of the things I remember about that time period, he was very, very sick and pulled an all-nighter with us on one of the negotiations on the lease,” Clark Hunt said, via the Associated Press. “He did it because it was so important to him for the Chiefs to stay here another 50 years.”
Clark Hunt and the Chiefs also unveiled several fan initiatives — the ultimate of which will be (if everything happens to fall together just right) a win in the Super Bowl, a label that Lamar Hunt devised.
“It’s been a long time since Kansas City has enjoyed the celebration that goes along with winning a Super Bowl,” Clark Hunt said. “I desperately want to win the Lamar Hunt Trophy first, then go on and win the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which my dad also named.”
They’re hardly favorites to win the AFC title; they’re not even favorites to win their division. But the beauty of the month of May is that every team can plausibly piece together a string of “what ifs” that would result in a berth in the playoffs. And as we’ve learned over the last several years, a berth in the playoffs can become a Super Bowl win, even if the team is the fifth or sixth seed.