Lions vs. Chiefs: A dispatch from London

Editor's note: This dispatch from London comes courtesy of Tom Childs, who is with Arrowheads Abroad, a Chiefs UK fan group. Follow them at @KCChiefs_UK and many thanks to the Arrowheads Abroad gang for covering the game this week!

I knew this weekend was going to be great. For a year now it has all I have been thinking about. I know what Sunday will bring. A win or a loss. With a little bit of shouting and screaming in between. But in general I have been to enough football games now to know what to expect.

It was the events leading up to which has been the great mystery. And if today is anything to go by then I am in for the weekend of my life.

For one of our members their weekend started a lot earlier than ours. Some may call her crazy but Arrowheads Abroad's very own Laura Robinson left her house at 4.10 a.m. for Heathrow Airport to meet our heroes as they boarded their coaches. The experience did not disappoint, meeting all of her favourite players such as Tamba Hali and Travis Kelce. An experience she will never forget. Her dedication was rewarded with memories she can cherish forever.

As for me, my day started with a bus tour around London full of Chiefs fans and one particularly loud Lions fan. Thankfully the rain stopped just in time for the tour, and the guys on the upper deck managed to enjoy London free of soggy clothes. Plenty of funny looks coming our way from Londoners every time a chorus of Chiefs echoed from the bus.

The main event of the day was the eagerly anticipated pub party with 'that free beer'. The pub was decorated from head to toe in Chiefs memorabilia. A sight to behold in itself.  Unknown to the five of us from Arrowheads Abroad, we were actually on the VIP list. That free beer became unlimited free beer.

Before we knew it we were rubbing shoulders with the likes of Christian Okoye, Clark Hunt and the voice of the Chiefs Mitch Holthus. All three were very welcoming, a trait which I am learning comes hand in hand with the Chiefs. They managed to make us feel like guests in our own country. For that we are eternally grateful.

One of our members sums up his afternoon at the pub party:

I've never been in a room with so many Chiefs fans - and it was amazing. I hope the folks that go to Arrowhead every week know how lucky they are to be surrounded by such an awesome crowd of fellow fans at every game. We were treated like stars.

I thought that just getting into a party that was organised for Chiefs season ticket holders was a massive privilege, but no: we got VIP access, we got to meet former players, Clark Hunt, Roger Goodell, media faces, and most of all loads of fans who seemed incredibly pleased to meet us. Every table I stopped at turned into a long chat about who I was, why a Brit would choose to support the Chiefs, and when was I planning to head over to Arrowhead (with offers of places to stay, tailgates to join, and a possibly optimistic plan to get me a spot in the starting 11!).

As a UK fan, coming up to London to be a part of the Chiefs visit, this was absolutely everything I could have hoped for and more. Thanks to all the KC fans who took the time to stop and chat!

As for the game on Sunday. There is a real buzz around London for this game. The Chiefs fans we have met are excited about this unique opportunity to see their team in a foreign country. One thing I can promise though is that they are not as excited our 500-plus members. If Friday and Saturday are the starters, then the main course will be bloody brilliant.

GO CHIEFS