Former White House Press Secretary: ‘It’s a thrilling time to be a Chiefs fan’

When the Royals won the 2015 World Series, Josh Earnest was thrilled partly because it meant he’d have an opportunity to meet the team.

The following summer the Royals visited Earnest at what was his workplace at the time: the White House.

Earnest, who was a White House Press Secretary when Barack Obama was president, is celebrating another Kansas City team’s success these days: the Chiefs. Earnest now works as Chief Communications Officer for United Airlines, which will air a commercial targeted to Chiefs fans during the Super Bowl.

In a conference call Monday, Earnest talked about how good his son has it as a Chiefs fan these days. He has no idea of the heartbreak fans have endured.

“It’s a thrilling time to be a Chiefs fan,” said Earnest, who grew up in Kansas City. “I have a 9-year-old son and he doesn’t know anything different than a Chiefs franchise that is regularly a Super Bowl favorite and regularly making deep runs in the playoffs. So it’s funny to watch this through his eyes, to be honest. But look, (quarterback Patrick) Mahomes didn’t just transform the franchise, he transformed the league. And you know you’ve seen the impact that he’s had with other quarterbacks, on other franchises, on other team’s approach to the draft. He’s extraordinary and he’s still in his 20s (which) is mind boggling.

“But it’s a fun time to be a Chiefs fan. I don’t live in Kansas City anymore, but here even in the Chicago suburbs you’re just as likely to get a Chiefs jersey on a kid as you are a Bears jersey, which I think is another way to assess the extraordinary impact that Mahomes and (tight end Travis) Kelce and Andy Reid have had on the league and on sports fans all across the country.”

The Chiefs are playing in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years and will hope to lift the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday for the third time in that span.

Earnest is not taking anything for granted in Super Bowl LVIII.

“It should be a great game on Sunday,” he said. “I don’t want to somehow diminish the great season the 49ers have had. I think it’s gonna be a really competitive game and it’s gonna be fun to watch a great Chiefs defense, something we haven’t been able to say we’ve had since I was a kid actually, go up against a team, the 49ers, that has real weapons. So it’s gonna be a lot of fun. Looking forward to it.”