{"id":84012,"date":"2020-01-23T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T18:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=84012"},"modified":"2020-01-23T14:13:09","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T20:13:09","slug":"chicagos-kansas-city-chiefs-bar-fans-erupt-during-playoff-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicagos-kansas-city-chiefs-bar-fans-erupt-during-playoff-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago\u2019s Kansas City Chiefs bar fans erupt during playoff win"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Leah Vann
\n<\/strong>Medill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Professional and collegiate team flags hanging from sports bars decorate many streets in Chicago. Outside, it’s Bears, Cubs, Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls country. But inside, each bar shelters a haven of raucous sports fans avid to share the spirit for hometown teams that may be far away.<\/p>\n

The AFC divisional rounds of the National Football League playoffs featured the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans on Jan. 12. As a football fanatic with no team in the playoffs, I decided to see what it was like inside these clandestine cocoons that weren\u2019t my own. Would the true believers accept a stranger who was merely there to observe as a reporter?<\/p>\n

The Chiefs kick off at 2:05 p.m., and as I approach Toons Bar & Grill on north Southport Avenue, the bouncer warns me that they\u2019ve met capacity. But if I was on my own, I was more than welcome to come in. He says there might be more room in the back, so naturally, I weave my way through the red, yellow and white jerseys to order a Stella at the front.<\/p>\n

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Toons Bar & Grill is one of two Kansas City Chiefs bars in Chicago. The other is Beck’s Chicago. (Leah Vann\/Medill News Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAre you a Chiefs fan?\u201d Chicago-area tax advisor Michael Chung asks me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m actually not.\u201d I say.<\/p>\n

\u201cMe either,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Chung, a Chicago native, came with his group of work friends, including a large burly Chiefs fan wearing a skin-tight red Chiefs shirt. When I ask his name, he huffs an explicative and says, \u201cMy name is f— off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chung tells me to not take offense. The burly friend is in a crisis zone. The Chiefs are down 7-0 within the first four minutes of the game. I manage to befriend the Chiefs fans enough a minute later for Chung to buy me a shot of fireball after Texans cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr. returns a blocked punt to put the Texans up 14-0. I\u2019m told by the angry Chiefs fan next to me that it\u2019s imperative I drink it for good luck.<\/p>\n

With the Chiefs down 24-0 at the beginning of the second quarter, I\u2019m warned that fights might break out. But that\u2019s Chung\u2019s opinion ,and he\u2019s a Bears fan. The angry shouts soften to a solemn state of shock in the bar, and the hospitality drinks from Chiefs fans keep coming my way, along with a plate of chicken quesadillas.<\/p>\n

But the Chiefs make a miraculous comeback in the second quarter. Damien Williams catches a 17-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to make it 24-7. The next three lengthy drives conclude with short passes to Travis Kelce, spotting a Chiefs lead 28-24 before the half.<\/p>\n

The now increasingly raucous crowd in the bar is led by Joseph Geddes and Cal Jones, both Kansas City-area natives who moved to Chicago for its job opportunities.<\/p>\n