KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two Chiefs fans received the surprise of their lives when their good friends from New Orleans gave them a call to surprise them with tickets to Super Bowl LIX.
Their journey to the Big Easy has been one of friendship, football and faith.
“I feel like we're living in the middle of a miracle,” said Chiefs fan Manny Gonzalez.
He said faith is what helped him, his wife Hannah and the Chiefs to New Orleans.
“The Super Bowl is great, but it's the opportunities that go beyond just the game,” Manny said.
Manny and Hannah met at a bible college in Ohio. They moved back to Manny's hometown of Kansas City in 2020 with their children and started Vision Church in Blue Springs.
“This guy right here is the biggest Chiefs fan," Hannah said. "No matter what state we've lived in, he's even converted people's kids that used to be Chicago Bears fans, Colts fans."
And it's faith that brought the Gonzalezes to meet Sharon and Chris Pleasant while at bible college.
The Pleasants are Louisiana natives and diehard Saints fans. They now live in the New Orleans area.
Thanks to an incredibly generous surprise phone call from their friends after the Chiefs won the AFC title, the Gonzalezes will have a front-row seat to history on Sunday.
"[The Pleasants] FaceTimed us and said, 'Hey, Kansas City is coming to New Orleans!' And I said, 'I know, we're coming to New Orleans, and you better cheer on Pat, Travis and the Chiefs!'” Manny said. “And they said, 'No, you're coming to New Orleans. We have two tickets that we want to gift you and Hannah!'"
The Gonzalezes said their gratitude is one of the biggest lessons to come from the gift from their friends.
They said it hits even harder right now because Chris Pleasant is undergoing kidney dialysis, which has left his health wavering.
So, to think their Saints friends put these Chiefs fans first meant the world.
“We're able to go through hardships, go through lean seasons of life, don't give up hope because there is something greater on the other side,” Manny said.
It’s the kindness of the Pleasants that Manny and Hannah said they hope to move forward themselves.
The Pleasants run a shelter for survivors of sex trafficking in New Orleans. Manny said it's just another example of how their service truly never stops.
And, like Kansas City’s defending champions, Manny said it’s a reminder that when you work hard, faith can handle your footwork from there.
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KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.