Swifties and ‘celebration hair’: Chiefs fans pack Power & Light Super Bowl watch party

Inside No Other Pub in Kansas City’s Power & Light District, as the final seconds of regulation time in the Super Bowl ticked away, the crowd was loud and hopeful.

A sea of red and white surged around every TV screen in the room as fans screamed, jumped and shouted to each other over the noise.

With less than two minutes remaining, the San Francisco 49ers were ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs 19-16. Then the game went to overtime.

Thousands of fans spent the day at the the Red Kingdom Block Party, the Power & Light District’s Super Bowl watch party in the KC Live! Block. The daylong celebration started at 11 a.m. and featured giveaways, photo opportunities and two stages with LED screens.

Among the crowd were Chiefs faithful who have been cheering on the team for decades and fans who jumped on the bandwagon far more recently. And, of course, some were self-described “Swifties.”

The ups and downs of the game were reflected on the faces of those watching and reverberated off the walls. The final shocking moment, with a Chiefs touchdown to end the game in overtime, electrified the crowd.

Moments before the game went to overtime, as Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce gained a first down with nine seconds left on the clock, fans had jumped up and down and hollered.

Earlier, just before 8:30 p.m., they had erupted in cheers when a touchdown put the Chiefs ahead 13-10.

All day long, even when things seemed to be going against the Chiefs, fans had remained confident.

Sunday night marks the team’s third Super Bowl victory in five years — and will undoubtedly lead to another victory parade marching through the streets of Kansas City.

‘Can’t be scared’

About 8 p.m., with San Francisco ahead 10-3 in the third quarter, Manny Emanuel, 26, said he had bet $1,500 on the Chiefs and had thought Kansas City would be ahead 6-0 in the first half.

Still, watching the game at the Power & Light District, Emanuel said he was not worried.

“I can’t be scared,” he said. “They gonna win.”

A fan from St. Louis

St. Louis native Julius Acoff, 37, was once a Rams fan but has supported the Chiefs since 2017.

He moved to Kansas City about a month ago, he said, and Sunday’s watch party at Party at Power & Light was his first time watching a Chiefs game with such a large group.

“I’m excited for Chiefs to win the Super Bowl, the crowd and all the people in this good town,” Acoff said.

Predicting a Chiefs victory

Ny Tran, 27, said she enjoyed the excitement and buzz of being among so many fans at the watch party Sunday.

She was excited for the Chiefs win and predicted a 27-14 Kansas City victory. Tran has been a fan of the team since they started winning rings, she said.

‘I love chaos!’

Paula Spielmann, 70, drove from South Dakota to visit her daughter in Kansas City and joined the crowd in the watch party at Power & Light.

Sporting a yellow quilted Chiefs jacket, the self-proclaimed senior Swiftie danced on the steps and said she was excited about being with family and “enjoying the hype” with everyone else.

“I love chaos!,” she said.

‘Swiftie’

Sean Clark, 58, recently moved to Kansas City from Tulsa, where he had been a Chiefs fan for more than 25 years.

Clark said he watches every game, preseason scrimmage and spring training. Being in Kansas City to watch the Super Bowl has made his experience as a fan even more rewarding, Clark said.

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Clark said.

Clark’s friend Brett Corvell, 53, joins Clark to watch the games but he’s also hoping to see Taylor Swift.

As part of his Chiefs fan gear, Corvell wore a red fedora that read “SWIFTIE” across the back.

If the Chiefs win Sunday, he said, he’ll be watching the victory parade with a Swift poster and scouring the crowd to see if she’s there.

“What she’s brought to the football world is awesome,” Corvell said.

‘Celebration hair’

Lifelong Chiefs fan Sabrina Gerdes, 23, wore a football shaped hat, Chiefs pajama pants and shoes customized with the numbers 87, 15 and 13 to support Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Nazeeh Johnson.

She wore her Chiefs gear throughout the week at Warrensburg Christian School, where she’s a teacher. And she dyed her hair red and yellow a week ago to prepare for the game, she said. It will stay like that for around three months.

“We’re gonna win today,” Gerdes said. “So it’s gonna be celebration hair.”

Gerdes, who lives in Independence, goes to at least one game at Arrowhead Stadium each year and watches the others with friends. Supporting the team, she said, is one way she can remember her late father.

Chiefs watch parties at Power & Light

The watch party was open to anyone ages 18 and up and general admission tickets cost $40.

Answering your Super Bowl questions

Have more questions about the Chiefs, Super Bowl or KC’s parade? Send them to kcq@kcstar.com.

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Last year, more than 10,000 fans attended the block party in Kansas City’s Power & Light District to watch and celebrate Kansas City’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.

The venue hosts watch parties for every Chiefs game and other sporting events throughout the year.