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“The Franchise” episode four

The Kansas City Chiefs’ new show, “The Franchise,” came out with its fourth episode on Wednesday night. You can watch above, on Fox Sports Kansas City, or by using the Chiefs’ Facebook or YouTube channel.

Episode notes

• Episode four opens up on May 21, 2019, the first day of Chiefs organized team activities. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach is in the car. He recalls where the Chiefs started in 2013, when they began to make a plan and had to recruit players. Now, Veach says, players are calling the Chiefs to come play there.
• Veach says it’s 4:30 a.m. in the morning, and he guarantees Andy Reid’s car is there, which it is. He said that, in 10 years, he’s probably beaten Reid to the office less than five times because it’s nearly impossible to do.
• The show covers day two of mandatory minincamp, when practice was open to some season-ticket holders. Led by Mitch Holthus, the Chiefs are conducting an in-house radio broadcast for those fans in attendance. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is mic’d up as he is shown coaching in action during practice.
• Chiefs head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder joins the Chiefs’ radio network. Burkholder says the “fire” behind the team may be greater than it has been since they arrived in 2013. He says that it’s “training camp mentality in minicamp” and describes how the guys are not leaving and are in the facility until 7 p.m. at night. Burkholder, citing his 27 years in the league, says the “buy-in” factor has been “off the charts.”
• The show moves to Lincoln College Prep in Kansas City, the site of the original Municipal Stadium, the first home of the Kansas City Chiefs, where the rookies are there to help kick off the 2019 season. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt asks Mecole Hardman about OTAs.
• Hunt speaks to an audience at the school about Municipal Stadium, which is a nice segue for the show to review the history of the early Chiefs in the ‘60s. There will be a new Municipal Stadium plaque installed at the corner of 22nd and Brooklyn to commemorate the historic sports venue. The NFL donated $250,000 to Kansas City Public Schools.
• Hardman and other Chiefs rookies meet the Lincoln College Prep football team. Hardman passes along some words of wisdom to the team’s members.
• Back to the field, and it is Gehrig Dieter time. Dieter and his wife, Meg are at Pit Bull Day in Swope Park in Kansas City. Gehrig discusses Meg’s passion for dogs. The couple has three dogs—one from Bowling Green (Goose), Alabama (Lou) and Kansas City (Maggie). The show explains how Gehrig and Meg met on Twitter and shares clips from their wedding and engagement.
• Meg tells the story of Gehrig’s draft weekend, how he wasn’t selected but was eventually signed by the Chiefs. Gehrig said he was a Packers fan growing up, so he was leaning that way, but something told him to come to Kansas City. Gehrig talks about his almost-play in the AFC championship (the Julian Edelman fumble called back).
• In the next scene, we meet Jordan Giesler, the creative services and brand manager for the Chiefs. He’s helping run Chiefs production day, when the in-house staff films all of the shots for Arrowhead Stadium and television elements.
• Brett Veach says hello to Tyrann Mathieu and Charvarius Ward during production day. Mathieu on wearing the red for the first time: “It feels good. I had to get my little pregame ritual out—lay out my uniform, figure out what shoes I’m going to wear, o it was cool going through the little process today.”
• Damien Wilson and Juan Thornhill discuss being with the Chiefs. Wilson came to the Chiefs in free agency while the team selected Thornhill with the second pick in the second round.
• With OTAs finished, the show moves on to Big Slick KC, where Patrick Mahomes and Dustin Colquitt are partaking in the celebrity softball game. Rob Riggle tells Mahomes he roots for him relentlessly and introduces his son to him. Mahomes tells Eric Stonestreet to swing as hard as he can and to close his eyes. Mahomes is then interviewed on second base.
• After hitting an infield single, Colquitt works his way around the bases and then slides into home plate. Mahomes hits a home run in his second at bat, and he tells Andy Reid he just had to get around the lineup one time and had to see the ball.
• Next week, “The Franchise” plans to cover the Madden NFL 20 shoot.