AILSA CHANG, HOST:
It's a big day in Kansas City, where scores of fans turned out to celebrate their team's win in the Super Bowl.
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MITCH HOLTHUS: For the second time in four seasons, there is a red-and-gold reflection on the Lombardi Trophy - a big red reflection. Your champions, Super Bowl LVII, the Kansas City Chiefs.
CHANG: Frank Morris of member station KCUR was in the thick of the victory parade.
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FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: The middle of downtown Kansas City was jammed today, and just about everyone was wearing red. Mindy Jacoby (ph) is here dressed for bed.
Are those pajamas?
MINDY JACOBY: Yes, and they're warm. And they're fuzzy, and they're amazing.
MORRIS: So what brings you out here in your pajamas?
JACOBY: The Chiefs (laughter).
MORRIS: Nearby, Nicole Moore (ph) stands out in sparkly earmuffs, lots of red and Chiefs spelled out in big, shiny gold letters on her shirt.
NICOLE MOORE: Yeah. Yeah. I wanted the bling. I want to be seen. I want it to reflect, you know?
MORRIS: Like everybody here, Moore has a favorite player. Hers is tight end Travis Kelce.
MOORE: I love Kelce all day - Kelce. I love Mahomes, but I'm a Kelce fan.
MORRIS: Mahomes, of course, is Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and NFL most valuable player Patrick Mahomes. And he's, you know, pretty popular around here.
DAMANI WHITE: I love Patrick Mahomes. Yeah, he, like, an inspiration to me. Yeah, I love it. I just love him.
MORRIS: Eight-year-old Damani White (ph) is here with a football hoping for an autograph. Paula Villavicencio (ph) also idolizes Mahomes.
PAULA VILLAVICENCIO: Patrick Mahomes, I feel like, meets everything - for his generosity, too. Like, on the field, he's really uplifting to the team and, like - yet, like, then brings so much inspiration to, like, everyone else who sees that.
MORRIS: Mahomes isn't just a fantastic athlete. He plays through pain and ekes out the most amazing plays and white-knuckle wins. He's also, by all accounts, a very decent guy, one who's bought a stake in all three of Kansas City's other professional sports teams. And just like that, the hero of Kansas City walks by...
SETH NAVARRO: That's Mahomes, baby. Wow, Mahomes.
MORRIS: ...Goggles on, looking very loose and groovy.
NAVARRO: Oh, my gosh, I saw Mahomes. Yeah, I saw Mahomes. I wanted to touch Mahomes is what I wanted to do.
MORRIS: Seth Navarro (ph), wearing a Chiefs jersey with Mahomes' number 15 on it and a hefty bunch of red-and-gold Mardi Gras beads, says Mahomes is a game changer.
What do you think he means for the city?
NAVARRO: Hope - hope and just the fact that we actually matter. Like, Kansas City's on the maps.
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NAVARRO: I mean, we're, like, the center of the NFL world right now. So, like, yeah, he just brought - he brought us hope. He brought us meaning. He brought us purpose.
MORRIS: And lots of people think Patrick Mahomes is going to bring Kansas City a few more Super Bowl victories.
For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
