Shots opened following victory celebration for Chiefs’ third Super Bowl title in five seasons – Chicago Tribune

The shots were fired minutes after Kansas City Chiefs players were sworn in for their third straight Super Bowl title.

While ambulances intervened in the footage, the police advanced towards the area with their guns drawn. No details were immediately released.

Downtown Kansas City was bathed in red Wednesday for Valentine’s Day as Chiefs fans celebrated their third Super Bowl title in five seasons with a parade.

“We’re piling up trophies,” linebacker Drue Tranquill said as he grabbed a reporter’s microphone to celebrate the Chiefs’ 25-22 come-from-behind victory over the San Francisco 49ers during Wednesday’s festivities.

As players moved through the crowd, confetti cannons exploded from double-decker buses as DJs and drummers heralded their arrival. Crowds lined the route as fans climbed trees and street poles or stood on rooftops for a better view. Owner Clark Hunt was also in one of these buses, holding the Lombardi Trophy. Former “Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet was part of the mafia.

“The best fans in the world,” exclaimed wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who caught the winning pass as he walked along the route where players signed jerseys and with at least one person’s head in tow.

“Never stop,” Isiah Pacheco added, running the route.

The question on many fans’ minds is whether pop superstar Taylor Swift will join boyfriend Travis Kelce for the parade and victory speeches. Swift did not comment. He has a show in Melbourne, Australia, on Friday night, the first of three concerts planned on his Eras Tour.

He was nowhere to be seen early in the parade. Instead, Kelce was joined by her mother, Donna Kelce, the superstar of NFL moms (her oldest son, Jason Kelce, is a center for the Philadelphia Eagles).

In the 60s Fahrenheit, unseasonably warm weather caused players to take off their jerseys. Weather conditions also helped draw a crowd that city officials estimate could exceed 1 million.

“I missed it last year. I said, ‘I’m not missing it this year,'” said longtime fan Charles Smith Sr., who flew from his home in Sicklerville, New Jersey, for the parade.

The 52-year-old, known to his friends as Kansas City Smitty, became a first-time Chiefs fan and Christian Okoye served as a fullback for the team since the late 1980s.

“I have a history with this team,” he said, adding that when the Chiefs clinched the victory in overtime, he ran from his house with a giant flag and shouted “Kansas City.”

The city and the team each donated nearly $1 million for the event, which commemorates Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs becoming the first team to defend their title since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots two decades ago.

Some fans camped overnight and others began scouting spots before dawn to catch the best viewing spots. Bailey McDermott, 17, and Gracie Gilby, 16, of Lebanon, Missouri, woke up at 3 a.m. for the three-hour drive to the parade. They threw a party to watch the game, and confetti exploded when the Chiefs won.

“I ended up going a little crazy,” said Gilby, wearing Kelce’s No. 87 sequined Chiefs jersey. McDermott also had a sequined jersey, his jersey bearing Mahomes’ number 15.

Many of the area’s largest school districts have canceled classes, and businesses along the parade route are turning the day into a viewing party for their employees. Police Chief Stacey Graves said at least 600 Kansas City police officers will be stationed along the 2-mile route.

Teenagers and younger children were everywhere; Some were playing football, while others were watching highlights of the match on giant TV screens.

Among them were Elysseah Buford and her friend Devaun Burns, who watched the game while picking up an order at McDonald’s. “They were losing. We’re losing,” Buford recalled saying. But even though a manager declared the game a lost cause, Burns rebuked him: “I said, ‘Don’t talk.’ Believe it.”

The 18-year-old high school seniors from Raymore attended the festivities with another friend, 17-year-old Mekiyzeion Williams. Williams had the nerve to ask what would happen if Hardman missed the TD catch. “Shut up,” Burns said.

The city, which has not had a championship for decades, is gaining experience with victory parades. Five seasons ago, the Chiefs defeated the 49ers to win the team’s first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. This came after the Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 2015, the city’s first baseball championship in 30 years. That year, fans left their cars on the side of the highway so they could walk to the celebration.

Then last year the Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 and prophetically promised they would be back for more.

One of the biggest changes this year is that the parade starts an hour earlier, at 11 a.m., so the crowds can disperse before the Valentine’s Day dinner crowd shows up.

After the big clean-up, the team is getting ready to try again.

Before joining the celebration, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “It never gets old.”