Here we are, Super Bowl week, and I feel for all the Detroit Lions fans and the city I’ve come to call home.
I really hoped the Lions would make it – though not as much as many of you did – so my Kansas City Chiefs could finally get revenge for that 2023 season-opening loss. It’s not about disliking the Lions, but about the passion and loyalty that come with being a sports fan.
I get why you’re tired of seeing the Chiefs win, of Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes in every commercial, of Taylor Swift cheering for Travis Kelce, and of all the supposed officiating injustices. But if people are complaining about your team, it means they’re noticing your success. After decades of waiting for the Chiefs to get back to the top, I can embrace the criticism.
At least we can all agree on one thing: we all hate the Packers.
I’m all in on the Chiefs, so much so that I wonder what Free Press Editorial Page Editor Nancy Kaffer thinks about the Chiefs’ “costumes,” as she called them on Facebook. I’m even worried that Swift being snubbed at the Grammys this year could be a bad omen for my Chiefs.
Strong, successful teams often spark dislike. I felt the same way about the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, just like many of you feel about the Chiefs chasing an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl win. I can’t stand the Yankees and the Packers either—teams that have had their share of dominance, like the Packers beating the Chiefs in the first Super Bowl, which I watched with my dad when I was nine.
So, Lions fans, at least we can agree on hating the Packers.
For the last two years, I’ve genuinely supported the Lions, unless they’re up against the Chiefs. Detroit is my home now, and I want good things for this city. I live just a mile from Ford Field and love the excitement of the area, especially when the tailgaters clean up after themselves.
I’d love to see the Lions win a Super Bowl, just not against the Chiefs.
Fandom is a mix of pain and joy, and I can’t help but be loyal to the Chiefs, just as you are to the Lions, even after so many tough seasons. I’m a Cubs fan too, and I hope you all get to feel that long-awaited victory.
I grew up just a few hours from Kansas City, and my dad would listen to Chiefs games on the radio. I collected AFL trading cards, with players like Buck Buchanan, Len Dawson, Otis Taylor, and Mike Garrett, who helped lead the Chiefs to their first and fourth Super Bowls.
They won Super Bowl IV, the last before the AFL and NFL merged, and then Chiefs fans waited for the next chance. After 50 years of waiting and only one close call in 1994, I never gave up.
I believe in loyalty in sports. Bandwagon fans are fine, but it’s the loyal ones—like the Detroit fans I’ve met—that truly deserve the good seasons, feel the sting of the losses, and relish the rare championships the most.
The Chicago Cubs celebrated their historic 8-7 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game Seven of the 2016 World Series at Progressive Field on November 2, 2016, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cubs ended a 108-year drought to claim their first World Series title in over a century.
I believe strongly in loyalty, so much so that I had to do some self-reflection to fully embrace being a Tigers fan. When I moved to Detroit in 2006, I had never supported an American League team, and had never lived in a major league city. My apartment was just eight blocks from Comerica Park, and I could still remember the excitement I felt as a 10-year-old watching Denny McLain chase his 30th win. Plus, I always thought the Old English D logo was classy. So, I justified adding the Tigers to my list of favorite teams alongside the Cubs. If they ever met in the World Series, I’d finally experience the challenge of too much winning.
Sports create deep tribal and familial connections, forging memories that last a lifetime. These days, I have to bite my tongue and keep my cool since my son now lives in L.A. and has become a Dodgers fan. Rivalries between friends and family add an extra layer of fun, and I loved watching the Tigers pull off a big comeback win against the Dodgers last July.
For me, the Chiefs’ resurgence is closely tied to rekindling a long-lost friendship from my 20s and 30s with a college buddy who grew up in a tough part of Kansas City. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 and endured months of brutal treatments. After receiving a clear follow-up scan in late 2019, we went to the Chiefs’ first playoff game during their 2020 Super Bowl run. Now, my friend, who lives in Nebraska, is a five-year pancreatic cancer survivor—a true miracle. We catch up during or after almost every Chiefs game.