It took a long time for President Joe Biden to honour the Kansas City Chiefs for the first time at White House.
Now it has become tradition.
President Biden for the second time in many years, welcomed and celebrated the Super Bowl-champion Chiefs, on Friday. This visit is after their Super Bowl LVIII overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
“Welcome back,” Biden began. “Welcome back to the White House!”
Last year’s tournament was remarkable for the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who made an impromptu trip to the podium, before quarterback Patrick Mahomes did a spot-on secret service impression by calmly and cooly whisking away his top receiver.
This time, Biden spoke, along with Chiefs owner and CEO Clark Hunt before he called up Kelce.
“I’d have Travis come up here, but God only knows what he’d say,” Biden jokes. “Travis come here. It’s all yours pal.”
Kelce did not miss a beat, delivering a succinct speech amid laughter from teammates and the president.
“My fellow Americans, it’s nice to see you all yet again,” Kelce said. “I’m not gonna lie, President Biden, they told me if I came up here I’d get tased, so I’m going to go back to my spot.”
Biden later handed over the stage to Hunt.
“I’m incredibly proud of our players and coaches,” Hunt said. “This season, with a target on their backs, they overcame adversity and got through perhaps the toughest group of playoff opponents in league history. They have etched their names in the NFL history books as just the second back-to-back Super Bowl championship team this century.”
By winning the Super Bowls again and their third in five seasons, the Kansas City Chiefs are a dynasty and as mentioned by Hunt, their latest title contest might have been their most daunting.
Before this past season, the Chiefs had nothing but home matches. But by securing their fourth Super Bowl title in five seasons, they went on the road for the first time in that duration. During the aforementioned 2023 playoff run, Kansas City, started by beating the Miami Dolphins in frigid weather at Arrowhead Stadium. Next they travelled to defeat the second-seeded Buffalo Bills and then the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game.
After Hunt’s speech, he invited head coach Andy Reid, who gave Biden a Chiefs helmet. The president wore the helmet to a round of applause.
“Winning back to back, I kinda like that,” quipped Biden, who’s running for reelection this fall.
With the 2024 NFL season starting in September, Kansas City will strive to become the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls. As such, Hunt is hoping to keep the burgeoning Kansas tradition of spring trips to the White House.
Hunt Said: “We have greatly enjoyed our time here today and we look forward to the challenge of making this an annual trip.”
