KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs officially begin the 2023 season Thursday evening when the football team hosts the Detroit Lions for the NFL season opener. On Wednesday, the team is holding a city-wide pep rally called Red Wednesday where it is selling commemorative flags and dyed fountains red to build excitement around the team and new season.
KSHB 41 News is a voice for everyone, so we interviewed a variety of fans, business owners and charities to highlight the importance of the team for the city.
In its annual rankings, Forbes determined the Chiefs is worth $4.3 billion, ranking 23rd out of the 32 NFL teams. People we spoke with believe the team is more valuable than dollars and cents. They call it priceless.
GATE 5 WINGNUTZ
Ed Zurliene values friends and family. He spends every home Chiefs game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium with his true family and friends who’ve become as close as family. Zurliene is a founding member of the Gate 5 WingNutz tailgate group.
“We have the tailgate and that’s where we meet all our friends and family,” Zurliene said. “They’re there for a reason and we’re all there for the same reason: the Arrowhead experience.”
Zurliene goes by “Wing Master” because he cooks about 300 chicken wings every week. Other members of the WingNutz have nicknames too. Kent Hancock is the “Quartermaster,” and Tom Garrison is the “Gate Keeper.”
Garrison’s job is to to reserve the Gate 5 WingNutz's favorite tailgate spot, which requires waiting in line outside the parking lot gates hours before they open. He often spends the night before a game parked outside the parking toll gates.
“Who can sleep? We got a game. We got a game coming up. It’s just amazing,” Hancock said.
Hancock, the Quartermaster, brings all the supplies to the tailgate, but his favorite part of a home Chiefs game is walking into the stadium.
“You see the field for the first time that day, it’s just amazing. Your heart just stops and you gotta take a few seconds and just absorb it,” Hancock said.
SUIT GUY
In one viral moment, lifelong Chiefs fan Jeremy Bredemeier became the “Angry Suit Guy.” But the 20-year-old insists he’s a happy suit guy.
Bredemeier wears a suit jacket covered with Chiefs logos to every home game — the same jacket he wore to a high school dance.
After a questionable penalty during the Raiders game in 2022, ESPN cameras captured Bredemeier angrily screaming at the referees. The short clip turned into a meme.
“I opened Twitter and saw accounts I follow to get sports news posting me. I couldn’t believe it,” Bredemeier said.
Bredemeier values the memories he makes at each Chiefs game. He’s met players, caught balls they've thrown into the stands, and thrives off the energy inside Arrowhead Stadium.
“There’s not dollar sign you can put on the memories we share as a family and the joy we get to share together,” Bredemeier said.
CHARITIES
Mary Esselman of Operation Breakthrough values role models. Her nonprofit focuses on education. It offers pre-K classes, after school programs and summer initiatives, among other services. Over the past 20 years, the Chiefs have provided several role models and several donations.
The team made Operation Breakthrough the beneficiary of its annual charity game twice. Individual players like Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, Chris Jones, Justin Watson and Dick Vermeil have all made donations to the nonprofit.
“A big list, but a big difference maker in terms of just seeing those role models,” Esselman said. “Then looking at all the opportunities that wouldn’t have been possible without that involvement.”
The Chiefs are invaluable to charities across Kansas City. The commemorative flag sales raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City. The Hunt Family Foundation — owners of the Chiefs — fund a tutoring and mentorship program called City Year at Central Middle School.
“The Chiefs are incredibly valuable to the community and they’re incredibly valuable in the heart they’ve given and the hope they give us here at Operation Breakthrough,” Esselman recapped.
SPICIN FOODS
In 2021, Spicin Foods and its "Pain is Good" brand became the official sauce sponsor of the Kansas City Chiefs. The local company, which makes and bottles sauces of all varieties, had to pay for the title, but says associating with the Chiefs is worthwhile.
“When you connect yourself to a winner, you have more of a tendency to become a winner yourself,” said Mike Armstrong of Spicin Foods.
The company won in April when the NFL called Spicin Foods directly to create a specialty barbecue sauce for the NFL Draft when it was in town. Armstrong calls that connection priceless.
BEST REGARDS BAKERY AND CAFE
Robert Duensing doesn’t think any Chiefs watch party is complete without a few Chiefs-themed sugar cookies from his restaurant Best Regards Bakery and Cafe.
“Our cookies are a big part of people’s participation in the sport,” he said.
The cookies come in all shapes — arrowheads, cheerleader outfits, foam fingers — and colors. Duensing said his team of cookie decorators get so creative that he bought a 3D printer to make his own unique cookie cutters.
“We had 800 cookie cutters beforehand. Now, it’s literally limitless,” he said.
Duensing values the grip the Chiefs have on fans across Kansas City because those fans invest in cookies like his.
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