KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A lot of Kansas City Chiefs fans have stories that come out of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, usually happy ones.
But that's not necessarily the case for Krista Belladonna and her sister, Caroline Meyer. The two grew up worshipping the team alongside their father, Bill Meyer.
"Those big wooden console TV's where you had to actually change the channel by hand," Belladonna remembered. "I would sit on his lap and he’d have his arms around me and we’d watch Lenny Dawson and the Chiefs."
Bill Meyer fell sick last year, right as the team made it to the 2022 AFC Championship game against the Bengals.
"We said 'wouldn’t it be great to go to the Championship game?'" Belladonna said. "He would love it if we went in honor of him."
Krista and Caroline never thought they would receive the worst news of their lives while at that game. Even though their father's vitals were steady and he was speaking that morning, he passed away during the game. The sisters got the call right before overtime.
"When they said it, I just kind of collapsed on the floor," Belladonna said.
But the two weren't alone. The sisters were comforted by fellow fans and members of Chiefs Kingdom.
"The first one walked over and she said 'are you ok?'" Belladonna said. "I said 'no, I just got a message that my father died,' and she just came down and she hugged me and she held me. We sat on the floor together."
She remembers a group of women sitting around them in the bathroom and staying with them until the end of the game. Krista said their kindness was overwhelming.
"Really when I look back on it, it was so much better than I could imagine, because every time I think back to when he passed, I was surrounded by Chiefs Kingdom and people that really cared," she said. "Sadly, we lost the game, but when we walked out, Caroline and I felt that we were in a community. That we had all lost something."
Now, a year later, and an AFC Championship under the Chiefs' belt against that same team, Krista wishes she could thank the women that helped her so much, in person.
"Thank you for your kindness and thank you for your understanding, and your caring, and your generosity and what you did to comfort myself and my sister," Belladonna said. "You made one of the hardest times in both of our lives special."
The two sisters don't know the names of these women, or if they're even from Kansas City, but if this is you, send an email to newsdesk@kshb.com to be connected to Krista and Caroline.
