NFL Draft In Kansas City
We have always been football fans! Amity loves her Chiefs, and I love my Eagles. When we decided to make our move I to Missouri I did some diving into what was happening in Missouri while we were there. One of the big events was the NFL Draft. This was far before we went to Arrowhead for a game, and even further before the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl. Sometimes Amity and my mom call me a dreamer for some of the ideas I come up with. Amity would double down on calling me a dreamer about this event, as it stood outside of the timeframe for her first contract. As things played out, we decided to continue this contract spot and stick around for another three months! This opened up the opportunity to go to one of the more eclectic sporting events, Day 1 of the NFL Draft. Cherry on top for Amity and all the Chief’s fan’s that it was being hosted at Union Station in Kansas City. The same place the Chief’s had hosted their Super Bowl Celebration just over two months ago.
Mile: 9,228
Quote of the Blog: “You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party!!!” - Travis Kelce
Song of the Blog: “Light ‘Em Up” - Fallout Boy
The lead up to the event came along with a lot of trash talking. We planned to stay at the Early family house in Leawood. All of the kids like to point out a couple things; 1: the fact that I am an Eagles fan is weird; 2: that they are all Chiefs fans and that is super cool; 3: the Chiefs won the Super Bowl over the Eagles; 4: they all believe the Eagles suck…! (They say the fourth one the loudest). Waking up that morning, I knew they all had to go to school. So, I got up early to show off my Eagles jersey for them all to see. Their responses were priceless! I don’t think they had seen an Eagles jersey that close. Autumn had her own way of poking fun at me and my team. She had saved some limited edition specialty milk from a local creamery called Shatto Milk celebrating the Chief’s Super Bowl Championship; called Eagles Tears (it was cheesecake flavored milk and was so good!!). I proudly had the tallest glass I could find with my breakfast while the kids continued to laugh at me. I have to say thank you again to Autumn for holding on to that for me and being able to hide it from the kids!
As quick as our uber driver showed up, we were being dropped off in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City. We had some time to kill before the event started, so we started with some coffee’s at a Starbucks near Union Station and then found a spot next door to get a brunch cocktail. As we sat there it became obvious to us that this event had a different feel to it. Usually a sporting event is dominated by the local team’s fans with a couple away team fans here and there. Today we had a strong representation from Chiefs Kingdom, but the number and diversity of team fans was amazing! Throughout the day we were able to find at least one fan from every team.
We made our way into the venue. Instantly we noticed the lines to do any of the activities were gigantic! The NFL had set up a bunch of different booths and activities for fans to get the feel of being part of the NFL. It was really fun and funny to walk around and watch grown men try to do things their bodies should be doing., like sprinting….those poor hamstrings. We knew the event was going to be packed and that space was going to be limited when they actually started doing the draft event. We made our way down to the venue, which was built along the outside of Union Station. It was really well thought out and looked really cool.
We found a good spot and started doing some more people watching. This became next level when the “NFL Super Fans” started making their way in. We all know how much the Raider’s Fans get crazy dressed up, but it was cool to see other Super Fans from teams like the Colts, Packers and so many other teams! As the day continued it was really nice that people hadn’t really figured out how to get down to the main stage area and were up doing things that entailed pulling hamstrings. This made for no lines to get food and beer for most of the day. We heard lines up in the other area were around 30-45min for a beer and over an hour for food.
As the day turned to night and things got closer to the actual event, the venue took on a concert vibe. People started to pack in and leaving your spot to use the bathroom or get a beer became a riskier and riskier move. It was important for us to make some friends with the people around us to help hold our spots when nature called. We made friends with some Raider’s fans, some Vikings fans and a solid group of people from Detroit who were in charge of putting on the 2024 NFL Draft there. This made for some fun commentary and people watching!
When the event kicked off it was clear that the Kansas City Chiefs were going to use the location and the venue as another opportunity to celebrate that they are the reigning Super Bowl Champions. I will say this, Chiefs fans are passionate fans! They are a fun team and it is easy to like them. Amity really enjoyed this! We didn’t really know much about the players being drafted and who was picking when, but we did know the Eagles picked twice (10th and 30th) while the Chiefs had the last pick of the night (31st). There were several points where we didn’t know what was going on, or who traded what to get to change their pick number. With every team came a roar of support from their fans, and the eager boos from the boo birds in the crowd. One of my favorite parts of the night was the “playground” trash talking that was happening. People were really good about keeping things fun and enjoying the event.
When the stage lit up forest green, white and black my heart melted! I was getting to see my team add another elite athlete to their team was really fun! It was also great to hear all the Eagles fans roaring in Kansas City!!! I don’t know anything about who they picked, but he sounded good. I was just excited to get to cheer on my team for once. We always cheer on Amity’s team and it’s easier for us to go to Chiefs games, having family in Kansas City. So, this was a really cool moment for me! Meanwhile, everyone is reminding me how close we got last year and that we lost to the Chiefs. All we could do is laugh, cheers and smile.
The night started to feel like it was moving really slowly. Picks continued to happen, and finally we had made it to the last two picks of the night. The two teams that played in the Super Bowl. One of my favorite elements of the Chiefs vs. Eagles Super Bowl was that both teams had a Kelce brother, and that Mama Kelce had her time to shine! Well, what would be more appropriate than for her to come out and make the final pick of the for the Eagles and announce the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. She’s a rockstar! Once again, Amity and I have no idea if the people our teams picked will be good or if they will turn out like Montana’s infamous Ryan Leaf.
Throughout the night we continually had ESPN and NFL cameras in our face and pointed at us. We figured we would be on the telecast at some point. A funny point in the night came when one of the guy’s next to us received a text from his daughter asking if he was the one next to “the guy in the Sproles (Eagles) jersey.” This gave us the confirmation we had made it on one of the broadcasts. His daughter asked why he was the only one to not wave. Amity replied by saying that he was a Raider’s fan and that he steals candy from kids. Why would he smile? This was the kind of comical trash talking that happened all night.
As the event came to a close, we had to find a way to charge our phone enough to get an uber. We were lucky to find a place with some grass to lay out in and stretch out lower backs. By this point, Fall Out Boy had taken the stage and was playing all the songs that were hot when I was 13 years old. It was fun to get to see them live, but it was comical to see grown men singing teenage angst songs. The night ended with a bomb philly cheesesteak sandwich from a food truck while waiting for our uber.
The NFL Draft is by far one of the more bizzarro events we have been to, as nothing really happens. That being said, it was really fun and a great memory for the future! As we pack up from another great night in Kansas City, we fill up the car knowing we are not headed home yet. We now have to drive across the state to meet my sister Tori and her daughter Cadence in St. Louis at their Union Station for a weekend of fun!