The Kansas City Chiefs have made it clear over the past two days that they want the fans in the stadium early this Saturday when the team hosts its wild-card game against the Tennessee Titans.
First, there was Andy Reid at his press conference Thursday.
“I know those tailgates are sweet, but let’s get inside,” Reid said. “Get there early then get inside and let’s roll. It’s time to go.”
Then, there was president Mark Donovan at his press conference.
“The 3:35 p.m. start gives us plenty of time to tailgate, like we do better than anybody in the world,” he said. “Let’s get into your seats early for a lot of reasons. One, we’ve got the full (field-size) American flag. Two, we’ve got the B-2 bomber going over. There’s nothing better in my mind in sports than that moment. And three, we really want the ground shaking at kickoff. That’s part of the Arrowhead advantage, that’s part of what makes this place special.”
Friday, there was Chris Jones, via BJ Kissel of Chiefs dot com.
Fear nothing, #AttackEverything, via @stonecoldjones_. pic.twitter.com/4wcLdm5SM7
— BJ Kissel (@ChiefsReporter) January 5, 2018
So why the big push?
The Chiefs know that with Arrowhead Stadium hosting the very first taste of playoff football this year, the world will be watching on Saturday afternoon, and the last thing they would want is a sight like this:
Here’s Arrowhead at the coin toss. Holiday crowd... or perhaps fed up, @EmptySeatsPics?? pic.twitter.com/BfBsd0DyXB
— Tom Martin (@TomKCTV5) December 24, 2017
That was the crowd on Christmas Eve against the Miami Dolphins, when the Chiefs had an opportunity to clinch the division.
A sight like that for the world to see would not be a good look for Kansas City and the Chiefs, and the organization knows it. This is the same team that has a desire to one day host the NFL Draft.
After Reid’s comments Thursday, I did some of my own research (thanks social media) as to the best time to get in the stadium to ensure you’re in your seat for kickoff, and what I came to was Chiefs fans have the most success when they leave their tailgate 35 to 45 minutes prior.
That means if you’re going to this weekend’s wild-card game and want to oblige by the Chiefs’ wishes, you should start heading into the stadium around 2:55 p.m.