St. Joseph fans celebrate at Chiefs victory parade

Sara Rooney, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
Updated ·2 min read

Feb. 15—While most St. Joseph residents weren't able to go to Arizona to watch the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, many were happy to make a trip to Kansas City on Wednesday to be part of the local celebration.

Stacey Vannaman, an employee with the St. Joseph School District, said she was happy to have a day off of work to attend the Chiefs victory parade.

"We had a feeling that (canceling classes) was going to happen after the win and we were like, 'Thank goodness, we get to celebrate with the rest of the fans,'" Vannaman said.

Leslie Lotspeich, who works part-time for the school district, said she and her children also were thankful for the "Red Snow Day" on Wednesday that allowed them to attend the parade.

"They built a few extra days into the schedule. I think it's great that the district recognized that families would want to experience the parade either at home or in KC," Lotspeich said. "We spent the night before the parade in KC taking it all in at Union Station and dinner. What awesome memories."

Vannaman arrived in Kansas City early Wednesday morning to claim her spot for the remainder of the day at Union Station, which acted as the endpoint for the parade and had a stage set up for an additional celebration.

"We got here a little after 6 this morning," Vannaman said. "It has been amazing. Like the fans, the people, it's all been extraordinary."

This year marks Vannaman's first time attending a Super Bowl victory parade.

"The weather is what kept me from coming to the one in 2020," Vannaman said. "The weather today is not too bad. It's tolerable."

Vannaman planned to stake out her spot until the end of the rally. She said the Super Bowl celebration exceeded her expectations.

Ethan Kimbell, a Chiefs fan from Kansas, arrived at Union Station also hoping to snag a good spot ahead of the crowds.

"It's my first parade," Kimbell said. "Everyone's been really friendly. It's really pretty cool watching so many people support us."

The Blocks, a local family, said they were excited going into their first Super Bowl parade.

"The Chiefs did really good and tried really hard," Judah Block said. The biggest element of the Super Bowl celebration that attendees raved about is the exciting environment shared by everyone.

"We're going to head down to Grand and 20th Street and hang out a little bit and see what we can do," Brandon Block said. "Judah is the biggest Chiefs fan in the world. I think he did like 19 victory laps when they won. So we're pretty juiced."

Sara Rooney can be reached at sara.rooney@newspressnow.com.