The Kansas City Chiefs are an iconic NFL franchise. Not because of a slew of championships, but because of a fanbase that has become synonymous with devotion, noise and passion.
For the second year, FanSided is unveiling the top 250 fanbases in the world, ranging from teams to entertainers, shows and individual athletes. With the official list coming soon, I sat down and wrote why I believe the Kansas City Chiefs fans should be at the top of the list.
After the Dallas Texans relocated and became the Chiefs in 1963, former owner Lamar Hunt began searching for ways to drum up interest in the area. Thus was the start of the Red Coaters Club, which was regular men and women going out and selling season tickets for the team. In return, they were able to take part in the gamely experience, forming two lines for the players to run onto the field between.
The tradition of the Red Coaters continues today, even getting an added facet in 1992, when Red Friday was announced in Kansas City. To this day, Friday is a day for all citizens of the area to wear red in support of the Chiefs, whether the upcoming game is home or away. The team also gets support in other civic avenues, with Kansas City — known as the City of Fountains — often turning the water red to show love.
Of course, the Chiefs fans are known for much more than that. There is the noise factor, something that has made Arrowhead Stadium into one of the most vaunted venues in the country. In 1990, Kansas City began to show that it would revive its fortunes after being a moribund franchise for almost two decades under new head coach Marty Schottenheimer.
In a home game against the Denver Broncos that season, the Arrowhead crowd was so loud that Broncos quarterback John Elway asked the referee to plead for quiet from the crowd, as his center couldn’t hear the signals.
In 2013, the Chiefs fans took it to another level. After years of having the decibel levels reaching the equivalent of standing next to a jet plane, the Guinness Book of World Records came to Arrowhead, and after measuring the peak sound at over 139 decibels, named it the loudest outdoor stadium in North America.
The title was stolen by Seattle but only for a year. In 2014, the Chiefs hosted the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football and once more took the crown back, something that has not been relinquished since.
Finally, one can’t talk about the fanbase in Kansas City and not mention the tailgating. If there is one thing Chiefs fans are known for more than anything else (other than constantly enduring heartbreak), it’s the tailgating at Arrowhead Stadium.
Fans come from far and wide to experience what it means to smoke barbecue out in the lots while throwing around a football and waiting for the brisket to be done. It’s a rite of passage for so many young fans, who go to the games with friends and family before growing up, starting a family of their own and cooking for them well before the game is set to begin.
For all of those reasons and many more, the Chiefs fans should be considered as the best in the NFL, and perhaps in all the world. Nobody has gone through more and done so at full throat, rooting on their team in the face of both history and adversity. They are a credit to the NFL and the city they inhabit, giving true meaning to the word fanatics.