ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — As the Kansas City Chiefs welcome fans back to training camp at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph for the first time since 2019, KSHB 41 News asked fans to share some of their favorite memories connected to the tradition.
The Lindeman family lives in Nebraska and has been going to Chiefs training camp for years, affording them the opportunity to be rewarded with some pretty cool moments.
Jerseys signed by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce hang in their home.
They've taken their sons Connor and Callen for years. In fact, Connor was wearing the Mahomes jersey when the quarterback signed it.
The boys love to watch the practices, too.
"I like when the defense tries to get past the offense, and the offense tries to stop the defensive linemen," 8-year-old Callen Lindeman said.
His older brother, 10-year-old Connor Lindeman focuses on the quarterbacks.
"I always like watching the quarterback's foot movement and arm movement, and decision making," he said. "Because I study it, and it helps me become a better player."
The Lindeman family even attended camp when it was held in River Falls, Wisconsin.
"We were Chiefs fans when, like, the game would cut off in the third quarter and they'd switch to the Patriots game," Kacie Lindeman said. "We lived through all of that. Training camp is really cool because that's how we got to interact with Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Like, we wouldn't get that opportunity otherwise."
And tradition is the reason Travis Hamman, of Blue Springs, attended training camp with his father since 2009.
Hamman told KSHB 41 News that one of the coolest parts of training camp is being able to identify players who aren't familiar to everyone, and then see them succeed once the games start.
"For instance, like Daniel Sorensen, when he first came on the team, nobody knew who this guy was," Hamman said. "Then he laid out some player, he was in every tackle, he was super good, and I was like, 'That guy's good.' So it's one of those things you're like, 'I was there his first practice, and everybody noticed him when he was lighting up players.'"
Chiefs fan Ashley Duke sent KSHB 41 News a photo of her two sons at training camp in 2018.
"My two sons and I went three years in a row," Duke said. "My older son and I promised my younger son a Dr. Pepper for every autograph he got. He was highly motivated and secured us several, and got a high five from Demarcus Robinson when he revealed the bribe."
Another fan from Iowa, Brian Ettleman, shared several photos, including selfies with Kelce, Mahomes, and a family photo of his young son Andy, named after Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid.
Chiefs fans will be able to attend training camp starting on Wednesday, though access to players will be different than in years' past. The team will hold more than a dozen practices between then and Wed., Aug. 18.
