Thirty years later, Chiefs ‘voice’ Mitch Holthus still felt nerves for preseason opener

The Kansas City Chiefs were coming off an appearance in the AFC Championship Game and Joe Montana Mania was in full swing.

Into the Chiefs’ radio booth for the first time, as the team’s regular play-by-play announcer, walked Mitch Holthus.

“It was such a whirlwind,” Holthus said. “It felt like I was in the middle of a popcorn machine.”

Memories came flooding back to Holthus on Sunday morning as he prepared for his 30th season behind the microphone as the Chiefs prepared to take on the New Orleans Saints in their preseason opener.

And so did some nerves.

“I felt it this morning,” Holthus said. “I love the feeling and don’t want to lose it. I think you get in trouble if you don’t feel it.”

Holthus had spent the previous 13 seasons as the voice of the Kansas State Wildcats before replacing Kevin Harlan in the Chiefs’ booth for the 1994 season.

He had called a regular-season game for the Chiefs in 1991, substituting for Harlan. The job became full-time in 1994, and after that preseason opener at home against the Houston Oilers, Holthus was on a plane the next week to Tokyo, where the Chiefs met the Minnesota Vikings.

Plenty of storylines follow the Chiefs into the 2023 season — and Holthus into the broadcast booth. He’s eager to see the progression of the team’s draft picks — Felix Anudike-Uzomah and wide receiver Rashee Rice, for example.

It can also be a big moment for undrafted players like cornerback Ekow Boye-Doe and tight end Matt Bushman, who have performed well at training camp in St. Joseph.

“A game like this is like potting soil for something that happens later,” Holthus said.