CHICAGO — I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Kansas City Chiefs belong to Missouri and Kansas. The two states really shouldn’t be in competition for a team we all love and share.
But if it is a competition, Kansas scored a big-league touchdown on Tuesday night.
During the roll-call of states at the Democratic National Convention — a boisterous, booster-ous affair that allows each delegation to tout their state’s virtues and party bona fides — the Kansas delegation appeared dressed almost entirely in Chiefs regalia.
“Kansas City Chiefs Twitter is about (to) wake up,” former congressional candidate Matt Kleinmann, a onetime University of Kansas basketball player, wrote on social media.
Kansas Democratic chair Jeanna Repass greeted the TV audience “from the center of America, the Sunflower State, Kansas! Where our farmers feed America! Where we elect strong women who govern from the middle! As the first-ever Black chair in Kansas, I am proud to cast our 39 votes for the first Black woman president, Kamala Harris!”
She never mentioned the Chiefs. But the camera — at least on the feed I was watching — pulled back to show her in a sea of red.
It looked like Red Friday, honestly.
The Missouri delegation, headed by Russ Carnahan, didn’t look like Chiefs fans. They looked like, well, delegates to a national political convention. Carhanan, in a tie and nice jacket, seemed a bit nonplussed.
“We’re HOME to the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs,” he announced.
Too little. Too late. The damage was done.
Now: Should we believe that the Kansas City Chiefs will decide their future — Kansas or Missouri — based on which state delegation showed the team more love and loud loyalty on Tuesday night?
And should we believe that Democrats, who come nowhere near a majority in either state, have that kind of power?
Should we believe the future of the Super Bowl champs was decided in Chicago?
Eh. Probably not.
As we all know, the real winner of that competition will probably be decided by whichever state can throw more incentives at the team.
