Local fans ready to welcome Chiefs to training camp
By Chris Fortune
St. Joseph is ready to give a warm welcome to the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs as they get set for the 14th edition of training camp at Missouri Western State University.
Local fans arrived early to East Hills Library’s Visitor’s Center to pick up signs welcoming the team to training camp once again. The St. Joseph Convention and Visitor’s Bureau ordered 5,000 to give away.
“We hope that people keep them from year to year and then reuse them, but we continue to order them because the demand is there,” director of sales Mary Supple said.
One fan watched demand increase in recent years and decided to show up early for a sign after missing out in recent years.
“This is something that I’ve tried to do, and I’ve always been a day late for the last two years,” John Moak said.
A visitor from Savannah said training camp is important because it attracts fans from all over the region.
“I’ve taken my grandkids to the training camp the last three years, and we’ve got tickets already for this year’s training camp, and we’re all excited about going,” Janet Fite said.
Fite enjoys giving her grandkids the opportunity to receive autographs each year. A St. Joseph grandparent has similar plans for training camp.
“My two grandsons, age 10 and 12, Owen and Hayden, are coming up to visit me the first week,” Becky Durham said. “And so, we already got tickets to Sunday’s, and Friday’s (practices).”
Lifelong St. Joseph resident Evelyn Cook doesn’t plan to visit training camp, but it’s not a reflection of her loyalty as a Chiefs fan.
“I’ve just loved them since the 1960s, when Len Dawson was quarterback,” she said.
Cook took note of the impact the Chiefs training camp has on the city.
“It helps the community and the businesses — it really does,” she said. “And I’m glad they come here. They picked a good spot.”
The welcome signs are usually gone within a few days, but the signs can be picked up at the East Hills Library’s Visitors Center while supplies last.
