From Celebration to Tragedy: Reflecting on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl Parade

Valentine’s Day was not just about love this year, it was also about celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ back-to-back Super Bowl victories. However, the ending wasn’t so sweet.

The Chiefs’ players, coaches, their families, and thousands of fans gathered in downtown Kansas City to celebrate their 25-22 Super Bowl LVIII win over the San Francisco 49ers a few days before.

Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes showed off his “dad bod,” while tight end Travis Kelce drunkenly attempted to sing Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” while reading lyrics off his phone.

But just before the parade was about to conclude, gunshots went off, and 23 victims were wounded, including one who was killed.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves told reporters that the shooting appeared to be the result of a controversy between several people. She also included that there is no evident connection to "terrorism or home-grown violent extremism,” according to The Associated Press.

Two juveniles were originally charged on “gun-related and resisting arrest charges,” stated by a news release put out by the Jackson County Family Court a day after the parade.

However, a few days later, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker announced that two Missouri-native adults were charged with second-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, and unlawful use of a weapon.

The victims of the shooting and their families have received an overwhelming amount of support from people all across the nation in various ways.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, visited Children’s Mercy Hospital and visited two young girls who were both shot in the leg and were recovering from surgery.

"We want to thank the Mahomes Family for being so kind, caring, and loving to our little ones and ask that the community please keep them in their prayers as they navigate life moving forward," the family reported to PEOPLE.

Singer and pop superstar Taylor Swift donated $100,000 to the GoFundMe of the victim who was killed. Her boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce, also donated $100,000 from his charity, Eighty-Seven and Running.

Kicker Harrison Butker donated one of his jerseys for the deceased victim to wear when she is laid to rest. The woman was wearing a white Butker jersey at the parade, and her family expressed on social media that they wanted her to be buried in a white Butker jersey, but they were struggling to find one.

Along with United Way of Greater Kansas City, the Kansas City Chiefs announced that they are launching #KCStrong, which is “an emergency response fund supporting victims and their families, violence prevention and mental health services, and first responders,” according to the Chiefs Instagram page.

The Chiefs, the Hunt Family Foundation, and the NFL made the first donation, a total of $200,000, which will go towards supporting the victims of the shooting and be used for violence protection, first responders, and mental health providers.

This is the second year in a row where a shooting has occurred at a sports celebration, with a shooting wounding several people at the Denver Nuggets’ NBA Championship celebration last year.

An ending like this to what was supposed to be a celebration spoils part of the Chiefs’ victory, but the start of the offseason will give everyone a chance to process their emotions before the start of training camp this summer.

Ashley Mascaro is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email aem6398@psu.edu.