The Chiefs and their fans deserve this Super Bowl moment

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 19: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JANUARY 19: Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts after a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. Few deserve it more than the players, Andy Reid and their fans.

Guts and Patrick Mahomes. The two differences between past Chiefs teams and the current one.

One play embodied it all.

With 23 seconds remaining in the first half and trailing 17-14, Mahomes rolled left under pressure. He avoided two potential sacks and could have gone out of bounds. Instead, he turned up, plowed into a pair of Tennessee Titans defenders, and barreled into the end zone.

Guts.

Arrowhead shook, and the Chiefs never trailed again.

On Sunday, it became a historic 35-24 victory for Kansas City, besting the Titans in the AFC Championship Game. All week, Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark talked, specifically about shutting down Derrick Henry. Henry rushed for 377 yards in wins over the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens.

Against Kansas City, Henry rushed for 13 yards more than Mahomes, notching 69 yards on 19 attempts.

Guts.

In the end, the Chiefs are going to their first Super Bowl in 50 years. Their fans are jubilant. They should be. These are the same people who sat through frigid temperatures and watched Lin Elliott miss three field goals. The same people who watched John Elway break their hearts two years later in 1997. The same people who lost the No Punt Game in 2003. Who a decade after, watched a 38-10 lead evaporate to the Indianapolis Colts.

The same fans who three years after that, saw the Pittsburgh Steelers become the first team to win a playoff game when allowing two touchdowns and not scoring any. The same team to watch Dee Ford line up in the neutral zone last season, and then who watched Tom Brady win it in overtime.

The pain is so great over the last 25 years, it required two paragraphs.

Now those people are awash with joy. They are no longer shackled by shame, the bitterness of lingering defeats from yesteryear. The Chiefs are now the team that finds a way to win, not to wilt.  This is because of Mahomes. This is because general manager Brett Veach bet big on Clark and Tyrann Mathieu. This is because Andy Reid went for the throat late.

Kansas City seemed forever destined to be the cartoonish foil in someone else’s fairy tale. Now? The Chiefs seemingly have all the answers. They’re taking on all comers, and dispatching them with ease.

Maybe Super Bowl LIV provides heartbreak. Maybe Kansas City falls short. Maybe this is a great story with a twist in the end.

Or, maybe, the Chiefs hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the first time in 50 years.

After all, Kansas City has the quarterback, and the team has guts for days.