Kansas City Chiefs fans endure long, heartbreaking road to Super Bowl

January 7th, 1996 – The Lin Elliott Game

The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 1995 season at 13-3 and as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. The Chiefs first playoff game would be in the divisional round against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts were 9-7 that season, but advanced to the second round with a win over the San Diego Chargers.

While the Chiefs offense wasn’t exactly a powerhouse, it was a typical Marty Schottenheimer team led by Derrick Thomas and a talented defense. The offense just needed to grind out enough points to get the job done. That might have happened in this game if kicker Lin Elliott hadn’t gone 0-3 on field goal attempts. Ultimately, the Chiefs would see their Super Bowl dreams crushed as they lost 10-7 to the Colts and quarterback Jim Harbaugh.

It’s the first time I remember being really devastated and heartbroken as a Chiefs fan. I remember being bummed when they lost to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship game with Joe Montana a couple of years prior, but that didn’t feel like the failure this one did. It’s the first memory I have of being really angry after a game.

To this day, some Chiefs fans won’t say the name Lin Elliott. Some of you may even be mad at me for putting his actual name in this post for you to read—that’s how scarred some fans are by this team even 24 years later. I’m sure some of you have major Chiefs-related heartbreaks that date back much earlier than this game, but this was the first major one for me.

Here’s the wonderful thing. Today, it doesn’t matter. We finally made the Super Bowl. We aren’t cursed. It’s happening. Next stop on the redemption tour is an infamous Monday night game.