WHITEHOUSE, Texas — We took a detour on our road trip to New Orleans and stopped by Whitehouse, Texas, where Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes grew up.
The people of this town are so proud of Mahomes and painted the town red the Friday before Super Bowl LIX.
You’ll see signs of that pride almost everywhere you look, from local business windows to the elementary school where Mahomes was a student.
You can even order a Mahomes dog at Montez Creekside Kitchen in Whitehouse, which has been on the menu ever since their first Super Bowl party about five years ago.
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The Mahomes dog has three onion rings on top. That’s right, three rings in a row.
Owner Gloria Munoz expects about 300 people to attend this year’s party and even a few folks from Kansas City to watch the game with them.
In her restaurant, you’ll find a wall painted in honor of Mahomes’ football feats and she has left plenty of room under his Super Bowls.
“Yes, we did! I did, I did! We always said you know maybe there’s room for more! I mean that’s our hometown, local boy, we’re so proud of him!” she said.
Her family has a connection to Mahomes too. Daniel Munoz grew up playing sports with him.
“Growing up playing T-ball and little league together, you knew he had talent. There’s been multiple times where I played in little league and he would just hit home runs all the time,” Munoz said.
He agreed people admire not only his athleticism but his character too.
“He’s always been a standup guy,” Munoz said.
His former high school basketball coach Brent Kelley showed us a game ball with a signature from Mahomes during the team’s senior night that year. Kelley still has Mahomes’ basketball jersey, too.
“Everybody sees it now, but he just made everybody better. He's a competitor, a leader. I just tell everybody he has that it factor.”
At Higgins Elementary, students celebrate the legendary athlete who once walked the same halls. Lots of them were decked out in their Chiefs gear when we visited.
I asked Principal Crystal Porche how much the kids love Mahomes mania.
“Oh, it’s huge!” she said. “Every Monday after a game, most people are coming in their Mahomes gear.”
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