‘She LOVED our Chiefs!’: NFL fans rally for KC-area mom who died at training camp

Jessica Tangen is remembered as a lifelong fan of the Kansas City Chiefs, but her death at the team’s training camp on Sunday has touched fans across the NFL.

Tangen was 43 and lived in Riverside, in Platte County. She was mother to a 9-year-old daughter, Kyla, whom she took to a Taylor Swift concert at Arrowhead Stadium last month, and woke up at 5:30 a.m. to take to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade in February.

She was also a member of North Kansas City High School’s Class of 1998, which celebrates its 25th class reunion soon.

Her funeral is Monday.

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid opened a press conference on Wednesday by calling Tangen’s death a “terrible thing” and offering “blessings” to her family.

“The Tangen family, our hearts go out to them for the death of Mom there and to the kids,” Reid said. “It’s a terrible thing that happened. We’ve obviously reached out to them and will stay that way, continue to support them by contact.”

From Boston to Green Bay, Cincinnati to Denver, Philadelphia to Los Angeles, football fans have left messages of condolence for Tangen’s family on social media this week.

From a Los Angeles Chargers fan: “No one should never come home from a game or training camp. So sorry to hear of the loss. Tragic.”

And from a Denver fan: “From a Broncos fan, my thoughts and prayers are with her family.”

Closer to home, hundreds of Chiefs fans poured out sympathy on the Chiefs Chicks Facebook page, a private page for female Chiefs fans with nearly 56,000 members.

“She was a dear friend of mine … my football buddy! Yes!! She LOVED our Chiefs! And so did her 9 year old daughter Kyla,” wrote member Lynn Campbell-Bouchard.

“Please pray for her family and most of all her daughter … that little girl was her world.”

‘A huge outpouring’

The Star has reached out to family members, who say they are preparing a statement soon.

But on Monday, the day after his sister died, Tangen’s brother, Dan Tangen, of Hiawatha, Kansas, wrote a note of thanks on Facebook to “everybody for their support and condolences during this hard time.

“We have really got a huge outpouring from friends, family, and various organizations that is really truly overwhelming and gratefully received.”

“As you can imagine we have a lot of things that we are trying to arrange, and take care of, and we thank everybody for their patience and apologize if we have not gotten back to everybody who have sent messages.”

Was heat a factor?

The details remain unclear on how Tangen died Sunday at training camp practice on Missouri Western State University’s campus in St. Joseph.

In a statement Sunday, Mosaic Life Care, the Chiefs’ health care provider at training camp, said its team provided Tangen medical attention at the camp. Buchanan County EMS and Missouri Western staff assisted. But the company released no other details.

During his press conference Wednesday, Reid mentioned Mosaic’s staff and the job they did “of helping the best they could.”

Fans wondered whether heat played a role. The temperature reached 91 degrees in St. Joseph on Sunday.

Extreme heat and humidity in many parts of the country caused other NFL teams to switch up training camp plans. Last week the Indianapolis Colts moved practice indoors to keep fans and players safe from the heat. The team also provided complimentary bottled water.

On Wednesday, the New Orleans Saints responded to this week’s long-range forecast for extreme heat by shortening their outdoor practice schedule, installing misters in the bleachers and encouraging fans whose health might put them at risk to not attend.

Heat is always a concern this time of year for both players and fans at the Chiefs camp, where shade is nearly non-existent and fans are advised on ways to stay safe and cool. This year, Mosaic added an air-conditioned lounge for breastfeeding mothers.

Tangen funeral on Monday

Tangen’s funeral will be Monday at Newcomer’s White Chapel Funeral Home, 6600 N.E. Antioch Road in Gladstone, according to her obituary. Visitation is from 1 to 3 p.m., followed by a funeral service at 3 p.m.

“There have been a lot of people that have reached out and asked how they can help or support us during this time. All we can really ask for is prayers, but for those of you that would like to do more we are currently in the process of setting up a trust fund for Kyla,” Dan Tangen wrote on Facebook.

“As that becomes a reality we will pass that information on, hopefully within the next couple of days.”

Includes reporting by The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff.