KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Last week, I tweeted a 23-second video of the Kansas City Chiefs' equipment team packing up the trucks to head to training camp.
It surpassed more than 100,000 views in the first 24 hours.
Almost 5 months to the day since winning Super Bowl LVIII, the @Chiefs are loading up the trucks to head to training camp in St. Joseph. Rookies and QBs report next week! @KSHB41 pic.twitter.com/R0o59wSHAK
— Taylor Hemness 📺 (@taylorhemness) July 10, 2024
People were clearly excited.
But there's no one more passionate about that process than equipment manager Allen Wright, who's been with the team for over 40 years.
I spoke with him one-on-one about moving the best team in the league 60 miles north for a few weeks.
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“It’s crazy,” Wright told me. “We take a truck just full of chairs and refrigerators.”
I had to start our conversation by joking a little with Wright about his personal vs. professional life.
"If I were to ask your wife when you're about to pack for vacation to describe you as a packer, what would she say?" I asked.
"I rely on her more than I should," Wright said with a laugh. "It's kind of funny because I do pay attention to detail out here, but I don't as much on my own."
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Chiefs players and coaches might have a hard time believing that, considering how much attention he pays to all of their details.
"There's some things that I do now that I did 30 years ago,” Wright said. “I still go through every player's travel bag every time we leave this building, so if something is not in it, it's my fault."
His devotion earned him a specific moniker from head coach Andy Reid.
"Coach Reid says I'm everybody's mom,” Wright said. “I don't know if that's a compliment or not, but I'm going to take it as one."
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That comparison is even funnier when you realize Wright was just out of high school when he started working with the team.
“I started out here as a kid, was younger than everybody. Then, I was the same age as a lot of the players, then I was old enough to be their father,” he said. “Now, I’m old enough to be their grandfather. But it’s been fun to go through the different stages of that. This locker room keeps you young.”
Some aspects of the work have changed dramatically in Wright’s time.
Practically every piece of equipment now has scannable codes to help track player movement, health and safety.
It adds to a massive job for Wright and his staff, but their job is also to be almost invisible.
“The less they have to worry and think about it, the better we’re doing our job,” Wright said proudly. “They can put their minds on football and don’t worry about all that other stuff.”
Other changes have come just because of the success of three Super Bowl wins in such a short time, including thousands of fans begging for a player like Travis Kelce to give them one of the gloves or towels going in these boxes.
I asked Wright if he ever thinks about that during the packing process.
“I do,” he said. “If you give a glove to a kid, that makes his experience a wonderful experience, and that’s immeasurable from a financial standpoint.”
Fan engagement makes the experience wonderful for Wright, too, and he’s looking forward to being right in the middle of it for another year in St. Joseph.
“There’s 31 other teams that have wonderful fans; there’s only one Chiefs Kingdom," he said.
Wright told me he thinks he's got at least a couple more seasons in him, but he also said he's thankful that all this success is coming at the end of his career; he appreciates it so much more now than he would have as a young man.
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