On February 11, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime, after quarterback Patrick Mahomes drove the Chiefs down the field and threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Mecole Hardman. The Chiefs etched their name in the football history books after winning back to back Super Bowls which hasn’t happened since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots won back to back in 2003 and 2004.

Patrick Mahomes won his third Super Bowl and entered a select group of quarterbacks to win three Super Bowls, Mahomes also walked away as Super Bowl MVP, an award granted to the most valuable player of the winning team. Mahomes now has three Super Bowl rings and three Super Bowl MVPs, which I think is enough for Mahomes to enter the G.O.A.T conversation as he has had better statistics and more awards than what Brady had in his first seven years in the NFL. Many people may not agree with me, but nobody has changed the game like Mahomes has; Mahomes has been the most dominant player since he entered the league. 

Another big factor to the Chiefs Super Bowl was their defense. The Chiefs defense was dominant this year, as the Chiefs played 21 games this season. The defense did not allow more than 28 points in all 21 games, which is a single season record in the Super Bowl era. 

But celebration quickly turned to tragedy and the accomplishments of the Chiefs’ 2023/24 season will always have a dark spot.

 Every year in the NFL the winning team of the Super Bowl has a “Super Bowl parade” and Kansas City has hosted three parades since the 2019-2020 Super Bowl. The parade is held on the streets in downtown Kansas City. Players ride buses with friends and family to Union Station where there is a stage for the players and coaches to talk and celebrate. This year, the parade was different. What started as a day in celebration on Feb. 14, ended in a day of tragedy and sadness. 

As the parade was wrapping up there was a shooting, fans started running in every direction trying to get to safety. There were hundreds of thousands of people at this parade and many WHS students were at this parade. Many children were wounded and were sent to Children’s Mercy Hospital and 43 year old Lisa Lopez sadly had her life taken during the parade. 

One of the four gunmen was tackled to the ground as a brave fan jumped in the way putting his life in danger to protect others. Personally, I think the actions that these gunmen made are sickening, these four guys have possibly ruined the traditional Super Bowl parade forever, and it is sad that people have to worry about these things while going to a public event like this. Even kids going to a public school, anywhere you go in America you have to worry about situations like this. Everyday life in America has changed, we can no longer be safe in public areas.