KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Many credit the Kansas City Chiefs’ comeback victory in Super Bowl LIV to star quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ three touchdowns in just over five minutes.
Melba Mills, the Sports Radio 810 KC Fan of the Year, suggests with a wink that fans — and Mahomes and his teammates — have her to thank, too.
When the Super Bowl kicked off Feb. 2 in Miami, Mills, like many of us, was planted in front of the TV. Not far from where she sat was the No. 100 jersey given to her by the Chiefs and NFL at KC’s 2019 home opener at Arrowhead Stadium. She was celebrated before that game for being a centenarian and Chiefs fan as long for as she can remember.
Now 101, with Mahomes and Chiefs about to take on the San Francisco 49ers, she’d donned a gown and was sitting in her chair in Bonner Springs, Kansas, for kickoff. But as the Chiefs started to struggle, she grew concerned and decided it was time to bring in what some Chiefs fans had already dubbed “Melba Magic.”
She put on that No. 100 jersey.
“And wouldn’t ya know, they started scoring,” Mills said.
Did a dose of her magic turn around the Chiefs’ fortunes in the Super Bowl? Maybe, maybe not, but she definitely loves her team.
Mahomes, All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and now-retired punter Dustin Colquitt are on Mills’ list of favorites. Colquitt presented her with the KC Fan of the Year Honorary ESPY.
All joking aside, Mills is pretty humble. She’s well aware that the award from 810 is owing to the more than 50,000 fans who voted for her as fan of the year.
“Really and truly, I want to thank all the people that voted for me as the Kansas City Fan of the Year,” she said.
Mills’ son, Monte, and daughter, Mary, are appreciative of everything the Chiefs organization and fans have done for their mother. Monte, who initially sent a letter to the team in hopes of getting a signed football for his mom, said he reminded her going onto the field before the home opener that “this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
He soon realized it was for him, too. He had no idea how that one letter would change their family’s life.
“Honestly, this has become a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the whole family,” he said.
