Super Bowl Weekend

#Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

It’s Super Bowl Weekend in America – the whole country (well, almost) will watch the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. EST (3:30 PST).

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  What is your favorite National Football League team?  [For those that are not American football fans, but a fan of another sports team, substitute your favorite team]  Why are you a fan of this team?  How long have you been a fan of your favorite team?

2)  What is the genealogy of your favorite team?  When did it start playing, what leagues has it played in?

3)  Have you worked for the team in any capacity, or attended games?  What is your best memory of your favorite team’s history?

4)  Predict the score of the Rams-Bengals game on Sunday.

For those who don’t know much about me, I live in Kansas – the center of America’s heartland. I also live in Chiefs’ Kingdom. Thus, I claim the Kansas City Chiefs as my favorite NFL team.

For those unaware of heartland geography, there are two communities named Kansas City. One lies on the Kansas side of the border and the other lies on the Missouri side of the border. Locally, the large metropolitan area that includes both of these towns along with quite a few ‘suburbs’ is referred to as Kansas City.

Lamar Hunt moved his three year old Dallas Texans franchise to this metropolitan area in 1963 building a stadium on the Missouri side of the area.

It was at this time the team assumed its current name. Not only did Lamar Hunt found the team, but he was the force behind the formation of the American Football League in 1960.

Between 1960 and 1969, the Chiefs won three American Football League championships in 1962, 1966 and 1969. In 1970, the Chiefs were the second AFL team to win what was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game by defeating the Minnesota Vikings. According to Wikipedia, it was Lamar Hunt, owner of the Chiefs, who coined the name, Super Bowl.

In a July 25, 1966, letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt wrote, “I have kiddingly called it the ‘Super Bowl,’ which obviously can be improved upon.” 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamar_Hunt

The team is still owned by the Hunt family, with Lamar’s son, Clark Hunt serving as chairman and CEO.

Under head coach Andy Reid and quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV by defeating the San Francisco 49ers 31-20. During that season, the Chiefs finished 1st in the AFC West with a record of 12-4. They defeated the Texans 51-31 to win the divisional playoffs. They won the AFC Championship by defeating the Titans 35-24.

During the 2020 season the Chiefs finished the regular season with a 14-2 record. They beat the Browns and the Bills to advance to Super Bowl LV which they lost to the Buccaneers.

This season ended in disappointment with a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Even though the shirts and flags are put away until next year, the Chiefs fans picked up on a Buffalo Bills tradition to donate to an opponent’s charity. Donating $13 to mark the 13 seconds it took for the Chiefs to tie the game against the Bills, Chiefs fans donated over $300,000 to the Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo.

After losing the AFC Championship game to the Bengals, the Bengals fans picked up on the ‘charity tradition’ and donated to Kansas City’s largest food bank in $9.27 increments.

While the Kansas City Chiefs won’t be playing today, I will be rooting for their AFC rival, the Bengals as they take on the Rams. I will also be looking for a charity challenge issued by the Bengals fans following their Super Bowl win.