‘Almost Andy’: how one fan benefited most from the Chiefs’ winning run
For years, the Chiefs most recognizable fan operated in the shadows.A regular at games since 1983, Matt Black cheered on KC through very little thick and and a whole lot of thin, an era marked mostly by a series of sports tragedies overseen by then head coach Marty Schottenheimer.Then, on one ordinary day in 2018, Black decided to shave his customary goatee leaving behind a mustache.He gazed into his bathroom mirror, and suddenly it wasn’t Black, a professional opera singer by trade, looking back at him.Instead, it was Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
“It was purely by accident,” Black told the Guardian via video chat, while donned in full Chiefs regalia, sitting in front of a press conference backdrop that would fool just about anyone into thinking you were speaking to the HC himself,“I had no idea that I looked similar to coach Andy Reid,My wife had booked some tickets for us for a Halloween ball and everybody started coming up to me taking pictures,And I thought, ‘Well, that’s interesting,’”Black had transformed into his alias, “Almost Andy”, and at just the right time.
Three titles and four Super Bowl appearances later, his life has changed in ways he couldn’t possibly have imagined.The “halo effect” that has been bestowed onto Black (and more on him in a moment), has also dramatically sweetened the status of KC, a middle-American city of 510,000 residents that forms the seventh smallest--television market amongst NFL teams.“What this run means to Kansas City is that we’re on a global platform,” KC mayor Quinton Lucas told the Guardian.“A year ago I was in Paris and had the chance to visit with [French national sports daily] L’Equipe, and they said, wow, ‘Patrick Mahomes, tell us about him.Tell us about Kansas City.
’ I’ll be going down to New Orleans,You go there to interact with lots of people around the country and the world who make very big decisions,And so to me, this is why this is so special,This is why, you know, you try to take advantage of it and you realize that this is a unique opportunity to have this ongoing success for a Midwestern city that isn’t always thought about,”Kansas City wasn’t thought about in 1994 when host cities for the Fifa World Cup were selected, and while we can’t say for sure that the Chiefs putting KC on the global map is directly responsible for their landing 2026 World Cup games, the city’s enhanced profile couldn’t have hurt.
Neither has the estimated $500m of direct benefit the mayor says came just from home playoff games during the run.Then there’s the unlikely ascent of the city’s television and film industry.Kansas City will never be confused with Hollywood, but it’s always had its share of feature film and commercial productions roll into town.Now thanks to the Chiefs and their quarterback, local crews benefit from an annual spring and summer ramp up that takes the industry to a different level.We call it Patrick season,” KC Film Office director Rachel Kephart told said.
“We will film several of his national commercials in Kansas City and some of them are hiring up to 150 people … and it’s pretty special that he chooses to film his projects here.I would imagine he could film them wherever he wanted, but he’s always filmed them here.So we’re really grateful for it.”As American NFL audiences know full well, you absolutely can not miss Mahomes plugging a certain red-branded insurance company, or a blue shampoo or a pink phone company.Though they may have missed the Hallmark Christmas film, centered around, you guessed it, a Kansas City Chiefs fan – Mahomes sat that one out.
Even the Chiefs themselves are getting into the business, announcing their new production studio this week.As for Black, aka, Almost Andy, he has to be one of the most improbable beneficiaries of the Chiefs’ success.He’s also landed on film sets, where he cozies up to KC’s football celebs as a stand-in for Andy Reid.“He was sitting there chatting with me one time, he says, ‘yeah, I get texts all the time from even my family members that say, hey, we saw you out at such and such a place.’ He’s like, nope, that wasn’t me.
”Black has perfected the look on and off the field, donning Reid’s traditional threads, mimicking his gait, and impersonating his voice, which he claims has actually helped his on-stage baritone operatic voice.“I never, ever try to trick anybody.I walk on a plane, they just think that Andy’s there and the pilots and people will come up to me and thank me and stuff.But sometimes they just won’t listen.I can’t convince them otherwise.
”Matt’s head turning is more than just a party trick, it’s a living, or at least a pretty good side hustle,On Friday, Almost Andy was in Los Angeles, filming a Super Bowl segment for Fox, who are broadcasting the big game in the US,Then he’ll make the flight down to New Orleans, where he’ll be making a series of television appearances: so far ABC’s Good Morning America, NBC’s The Tonight Show and the BBC have made inquiries,He has over 600k followers on social media, his own local endorsements and is currently ranked 34th overall on Cameo, spending some two hours a night recording messages,Nothing can stop Almost Andy, except perhaps coach Reid’s recent weight loss.
“That’s been a little bit of a challenge for me.I keep sending dozens of donuts out there.I don’t know what he’s up to, but he’s not following what I send because he’s been putting off the weight.So I got to take care of that.”When asked for a prediction for Super Bowl LIX, Almost Andy was careful not to provide the Eagles with any bulletin board material.
“All we need to do is get out there and focus on the job at hand,” he says.“And that’s what we’re going to do as a team.”Thanks, coach.
England stun France as dramatic late Daly try clinches Six Nations classic
Another Saturday night at the movies with a stunningly different conclusion. England have been involved in a few thrillers in recent times but this one could not have had a more dramatic plot twist. The collective roar which greeted the decisive 79th-minute try by the replacement Elliot Daly, bursting unstoppably on to a short ball from his young fly-half Fin Smith, must almost have rattled the windows in Calais.Previously it had seemed England were about to lose another tight game when France’s precocious winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey went over for his second try six minutes from time. With barely 90 seconds left, though, England had one last chance and, in a set strike move off a lineout, Smith and Daly combined to clinch a result that transforms their team’s Six Nations prospects
Trump at the Super Bowl: how the NFL’s culture war ended in surrender
Trump’s attendance at the Super Bowl on Sunday in New Orleans stands to offer more evidence that the sporting climate has shifted from resistance to acceptanceAs a 2016 presidential candidate and White House occupant, Donald Trump lambasted NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem in protest at civil rights abuses. Now, set to become the first incumbent president to attend a Super Bowl, it appears that the US’s most popular sport is genuflecting before him.Trump will reportedly attend the clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in New Orleans as a guest of Gayle Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints. A pre-recorded interview conducted by a Fox News anchor will also air during the pre-game show of an event that last year was viewed by more than 123m Americans. And while he watches the action, Trump will not have to stare at a message inspired by the kind of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies that he is intent on bulldozing
Gatland has sympathy for nation’s frustration as sorry Wales slump again
Warren Gatland said he “understands people’s frustration” after his Wales team slumped to a 14th consecutive defeat and a worst‑ever world ranking of 12th, one place below Georgia, losing 22-15 to Italy in Rome.Speaking to the Welsh language broadcaster S4C, Gatland empathised with his team’s supporters. “I can understand people’s frustration and we are frustrated and disappointed as well because we created opportunities but we have made mistakes and the penalty count was disappointing,” he said. “As a coaching team and players they are not hard fixes but we need to make sure we focus in those key moments.”After last year’s 24-21 reverse against Italy in Cardiff, that consigned Wales to a Six Nations wooden spoon, Gatland offered his resignation
Italy beat the deluge and condemn toothless Wales to 14th defeat in a row
Another week, another Welsh defeat, another 80 minutes in which those in red gave their best as individuals but proved that it is nowhere near good enough for this level. A 14th straight defeat has dropped them to 12th on World Rugby’s rankings, one place below Georgia and the lowest position in their history. In Roman rain, Warren Gatland’s Divine Comedy descended another circle.Perhaps the most damning point of all is that this never felt like a contest. The losing bonus point, procured at the death with a penalty try after two Italians received yellow cards, felt undeserving and failed to gloss over the preceding dross
‘Almost Andy’: how one fan benefited most from the Chiefs’ winning run
For years, the Chiefs most recognizable fan operated in the shadows. A regular at games since 1983, Matt Black cheered on KC through very little thick and and a whole lot of thin, an era marked mostly by a series of sports tragedies overseen by then head coach Marty Schottenheimer. Then, on one ordinary day in 2018, Black decided to shave his customary goatee leaving behind a mustache. He gazed into his bathroom mirror, and suddenly it wasn’t Black, a professional opera singer by trade, looking back at him. Instead, it was Chiefs head coach Andy Reid
Sri Lanka v Australia: second men’s cricket Test, day three – as it happened
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