Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce hypes up the crowd at the Super Bowl victory celebration rally.
CNN —
It was party time in Missouri on Wednesday as the Chiefs continued their celebrations after Sunday’s Super Bowl win with a parade through the streets of Kansas City and a rally where two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes told the crowd he was planning to see them in the same place next year.
At the rally, Mahomes, who was selected MVP for the NFL season and for the Super Bowl, lauded the Chiefs fans and said the future hold more big wins.
“This is just the beginning. We ain’t done yet,” Mahomes told the massive crowd in front of Union Station. “So I’ll make sure to hit y’all back next year, and I hope the crowd’s the same.”
For the Chiefs’ last Super Bowl win in 2020, it was estimated that between 800,000 and 1 million fans lined the streets to celebrate and early indications showed that number was likely to be matched.
Kansas City Chiefs fans wait for a rally to begin.
Despite the parade getting underway at midday local time, some fans had been waiting by the side of the road since 6 a.m. CT to ensure they were in prime position to see the parade go by.
The celebrations began in a somewhat organized fashion as the Chiefs’ team buses made their way through the streets in a line. However, the buses soon got separated from each other as the players got off to celebrate with the fans.
Some took selfies, signed autographs and gave out hugs, while others handed out beers to delighted supporters.
Kansas City Chiefs safety Juan Thornhill celebrates with fans during the parade.
Once again, boisterous tight end and hype man Travis Kelce pumped up the crowd, then said: “Chiefs kingdom, we do this for you. … And we love every single time you make Arrowhead (Stadium) shake.”
He said it was the best season of his life and thanked the fans, his teammates and members of the Chiefs’ organization.
“Everyone’s asking if this is a dynasty, it’s been a dynasty,” he said, alluding to three Super Bowl appearances in five seasons and two titles.
QB has MVP award in one hand and cold beverage in another
Patrick Mahomes was having a good, good day at the parade.
Free beer was becoming something of a theme, with Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles announcing in a bar before the parade that fans present would receive free Bud Light – those that were 21 and over of course.
A few lucky fans even got the chance to touch the famous Vince Lombardi Trophy as Chiefs defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi cradled it and took it over to the where they were lined up.
Supporters went into a frenzy when Mahomes, who was wearing a WWE World Championship belt on the bus, and Kelce, accompanied by his now-famous mom Donna, went past giving out high fives.
Mahomes in particular looked to be having a blast, dancing at the back of the bus with his MVP award in one hand and and a beer in the other.
The Chiefs offensive line even had special t-shirts made for the occasion, with Trey Smith wearing one that read “0 sacks” and Orlando Brown Jr. one that read “0 sacks, put it on a f****** t-shirt.”
Preventing Mahomes, who was suffering with an ankle sprain, from being sacked in the Super Bowl was clearly a matter of great pride.
A couple of young Chiefs fans make the most of the morning waiting for the Kansas City Chiefs' victory celebration and parade in Kansas City.
Twitter beef
The day before the parade, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was still ruffling the Eagles’ feathers.
Smith-Schuster posted a mock Valentine’s Day card to his Twitter account bearing the face of Philadelphia’s James Bradberry, along with the caption “I’ll hold you when it matters most.”
The cheeky post was a reference to Bradberry being whistled for a controversial holding penalty for tugging at Smith-Schuster’s jersey late in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
The penalty allowed the Chiefs to run out the clock and then kick a championship-winning field goal.
Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown was less than impressed with Smith-Schuster’s tweet.
“First off congratulations,” he replied on Twitter. “Y’all deserve it. This is lame. You was on the way out the league before Mahomes resurrected your career on your 1 year deal Tik-Tok boy.
“He admitted that he grabbed you but don’t act like your (sic) like that or ever was. But congratulations again!”
Brown’s “Tik Tok boy” remark sent Twitter users into a frenzy, a reference to Smith-Schuster’s penchant for performing dance routines made famous by the social media app while on the field.
CNN’s Steve Almasy contributed to this report.
