RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Kansas City Chiefs pulled it out. They beat the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl 54. It had been a long time coming for Kansas City - half a century, in fact. And as Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports, the Chiefs' success is giving Kansas City more than just a football victory.
FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: By the last few minutes of the game, it was pretty clear that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was going to pull out another come-from-behind win. And Danielle Jackson (ph) started hugging people.
DANIELLE JACKSON: It's a lifetime of waiting, and we're here. And they did it. And Patrick Mahomes came through for our team. And we're so excited, and we're so in love.
MORRIS: At this bar, The Ship, a live brass band took over before the game was even done.
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MORRIS: It's been 50 years since Kansas City even made it to the big game. The Chiefs were in the first Super Bowl; they lost to Green Bay. In fact, the Chiefs' first owner Lamar Hunt came up with the name Super Bowl. And his son Clark Hunt owns the team now.
Denis Wyatt's (ph) been a Chiefs fan almost all his 66 years. And he was a sophomore in high school when the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl 4.
DENIS WYATT: That's a long time to support a team that's kicked your teeth out a few times. But man, they've always had heart. This team has always had heart. So it wasn't that hard to support them if you were a real friend. And man, it's just awesome now.
DAWANA STEPHENS: I'm ecstatic. This is the first time the Chiefs have been to the Super Bowl in my lifetime. And I've been screaming so loud that I don't have a voice.
MORRIS: Dawana Stevens says she loves it that Kansas City's professional baseball and soccer teams have also won national titles in the last few years. But she says that what's happening here goes beyond sports.
STEPHENS: There's so much going on right now in our country that is pulling us apart. And this is something that everyone can come together on.
MORRIS: And you hear this kind of talk all over Kansas City now.
STEPHENS: Like, we can all unite around this. We can all be excited about this. We can all just enjoy it and not have to talk about politics and just racism and all of the stuff that makes us sad.
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MORRIS: There was literally dancing in the streets of Kansas City last night, celebratory gunfire - yes, that's a Kansas City tradition - and lots of fireworks. Transplanted Kansas City resident Chris Oursler (ph) says he loves the city's energy - and not just because of the win.
CHRIS OURSLER: It is the best of everything, man. I'm from the South. I grew up in the South. And this place roots their teams and supports each other like small towns in West Texas do. It's really crazy. The energy, you can't beat it, man. There's a taste to it. It's like - I don't know.
STEPHENS: I think we're about to have a second line parade.
MORRIS: Kansas City's official Super Bowl parade is set for Wednesday. It'll be cold and breezy with a chance of snow flurries. But lots of people here predict that it will be the biggest gathering in the city's history.
For NPR News, I'm Frank Morris in Kansas City.
(SOUNDBITE OF TOTORRO'S "MOTTE-ROCK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.