Super Bowl 2024: 10 facts about Kansas City
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce kisses the Lamar Hunt Trophy after an AFC Championship Game against the Ravens on Sunday in Baltimore. Credit: AP/Nick Wass
1. Kansas City has hoisted the Lamar Hunt Trophy four times in the last five years for winning the AFC Championship. The last team to do that was the Patriots from 2014-18. The trophy is named after the founder of the American Football League and the original owner of the Kansas City football team when they were Dallas Texans. The Hunt family still owns Kansas City.
2. Kansas City is trying to become the first repeat Super Bowl winner since the Patriots in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX following the 2003 and 2004 seasons.
3. Andy Reid is the only coach in NFL history to win 100-plus games with two teams (Philadelphia and Kansas City) and the only to lead two franchises in victories. Reid has won at least 10 games 18 times, second only to Don Shula and Bill Belichick (20 each). Reid’s 25 playoff victories are second to Belichick (31).
4. Reid participated in a punt, pass and kick competition during a 1971 Monday Night Football Game between the Los Angeles Rams and Washington. The 13-year-old Reid was so big, the shoulder pads and uniform he was given didn’t fit. He ended up wearing Rams running back Les Josephson’s jersey and pads. Reid wore Josephson’s shoulder pads throughout high school.
5. Tight end Travis Kelce, who is famously dating pop superstar Taylor Swift, showed he can hold a note, too. He sang a duet with his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, entitled “Fairytale of Philadelphia.” The Kelces’ remake of The Pogues’ 1987 Christmas song “Fairytale of New York,” hit No. 1 on the Digital Song Sales and Holiday Digital Song Sales charts in November. The “Swifties” probably helped those numbers.
6. Backup running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is taking classes to become a nurse, which he will pursue as a full-time career after football. Edwards-Helaire’s mother is a nurse, and his sister was born with Muscular Dystrophy, so he wanted to be in the medical profession.
7. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy played for the Arena Football League’s New York Dragons that called Nassau Coliseum home. Nagy threw 27 touchdowns and five interceptions in seven games for the Dragons in 2002.
8. Nagy’s father, Bill, was ex-Jets head coach Todd Bowles' defensive line coach when Bowles played for Elizabeth (N.J.) High School. Bowles wanted to hire Matt Nagy for the Jets’ offensive coordinator opening in 2017, but Reid blocked the interview. Nagy was a Kansas City assistant at the time. He became the Bears head coach the following year.
9. Steve Spagnuolo, the ex-Giants defensive coordinator and interim head coach, is the only DC to win Super Bowls with two franchises. His defense was a main reason that the Giants beat the undefeated and high-powered Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Spagnuolo has helped Kansas City win two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator. KC had the No. 2-ranked defense during the season and has allowed just three fourth-quarter points in three playoff games.
10. Running back Isiah Pacheco, who went to Rutgers, earned his nickname “Pop” when he was playing football as a young child in New Jersey — and it has nothing to do with his unique running style that has led to some funny memes. During one game, Pacheco delivered a hard hit on the quarterback. Someone said, “You popped him.” The nickname “Pop” stuck.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
