Chiefs Kingdom couldn't wait for the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot to open Saturday morning ahead of Kansas City's Divisional Round playoff showdown with the visiting Houston Texans.
Not only was there heavy traffic at the Truman Sports Complex more than eight hours before kickoff, but some attendees arrived at the parking lot gates Friday night, as seen in a clip from KCTV's Mark Poulose.
“The fire's already getting ready for the brats,” one Chiefs fan told the reporter as he lifted the helmet-shaped lid of his grill.
These knights were soon joined by thousands more, as seen in a clip from ESPN's Jeff Darlington posted on social media.
“The obligatory video of Chiefs fans lining up outside the Arrowhead gates 8.5 hours before the game to keep going in 18 degree weather,” Darlington wrote on X.
It's not yet clear if Travis Kelce's girlfriend, Taylor Swift, will be among those braving the cold in Arrowhead on Saturday.
Thousands of Chiefs fans arrive in Arrowhead nearly nine hours before kickoff, as seen in this social media post by ESPN's Jeff Darlington.
This fan was having a barbecue outside the stadium on Friday night, according to KCTV.
Of course, this has become something of a January tradition right off I-70. The Chiefs have not lost a home playoff game since the AFC Championship in January 2022, when Patrick Mahomes & Co. fell to the visiting Cincinnati Bengals.
“I'm so KC, I woke up EARLY knowing that #ChiefsKingdom was already waiting outside the gates of Arrowhead,” one fan wrote on X. “#tradition.”
And the weather, once again, fails to deter Chiefs fans who want to eat and drink in a parking lot for eight hours before kickoff at 3:30 p.m. (local time).
On Saturday morning temperatures were around 19 degrees Fahrenheit. However, there could be wind gusts of 30 to 35 mph, according to KSHB meteorologist Jeff Penner.
This is not the first time Kansas City has hosted Houston in the playoffs. Andy Reid remembers quite well the previous time the Texans visited for a divisional playoff game.
He was still considered one of the best coaches to never win the Super Bowl. Mahomes was still a young, record-breaking quarterback full of potential.
The Texans had Deshaun Watson, instead of CJ Stroud, under center and he threw a pair of touchdown passes to help Houston take a 24-0 lead inside a stunned Arrowhead Stadium.
“We didn't start very well,” Reid recalled, “that's for sure.”
Taylor Swift could return to Kansas City on Saturday for the Chiefs' clash against the Texans
Its finish was almost perfect. The Chiefs scored 28 points in the second quarter and went on to a 51-31 victory, which not only sent them to the AFC title game, but also provided the momentum that ultimately earned Reid his first AFC title. Super Bowl.
“This way,” Mahomes said, “things could have gone wrong very quickly.” “I was proud of the guys' resilience.”
Now, the Chiefs hope that another win over the Texans on Saturday can catapult them to an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title, and fourth in a six-year span, a streak that began with that divisional win over Houston on Jan. 12. of 2020.
'I mean, it's been a fun run up to this point. But we want to get to that end goal,” Mahomes said this week. 'We know it's going to be a challenge. So we have to really focus on the day and how we can get better, and try to win the game.'
The Chiefs (15-2), who earned the top seed and the only bye in the first round, haven't played many of their starters since clinching the game on Christmas Day. They chose to rest Mahomes and stars like Travis Kelce and Chris Jones during a meaningless Week 18 loss in Denver, and risked the possibility of rust in more than 24 days between games due to the need to recover.
Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud answers a question during a press conference
Meanwhile, the Texans (11-7) have started to gain some momentum after beating the Titans in the regular-season finale and defeating the Chargers during the wild-card round. They lost in Kansas City the weekend before Christmas, but neither team puts much stock in that matchup, one of three they played over a brutal 11-day stretch.
'That was that week. It's different circumstances that happened that particular week,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. 'It's a new game for me now. New start. New game. We're going to attack it like it's the first time we've faced these guys.”
This is the sixth time the Texans have played for a spot in the AFC championship game. They have lost all of their previous five.
'That would be huge. I didn't know it, but I think it's going to be a big accomplishment,” Stroud said. “This team is really motivated to go up and play some good ball against a great Kansas City team that's been around like this forever. “It will take all of us and a lot of execution to do it, so we have to be on our A-game.”