KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce promised thousands of fans celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship Wednesday that the team will be back for more.

During a boisterous victory rally at downtown’s Union Station after a parade, Mahomes and Kelce joked about “experts” who predicted the just-concluded NFL season would be a rebuilding year for the Chiefs, who defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 on Sunday.

“We’re back again, we’re back again,” Mahomes, the NFL’s regular season and Super Bowl MVP, told thousands of cheering fans clad in the Chiefs’ red and gold team colors.

“When we started this season the AFC West said we were rebuilding,” Mahomes said. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know what rebuilding means. In our rebuilding year, we’re world champs, we’re world champs.”

Kelce noted that some “haters” predicted the Chiefs wouldn’t even make the playoffs.

“In all reality, this was this best season of my life,” Kelce said. “I owe it to (the fans), I owe it to the guys on this stage, I owe it to everybody in Chiefs Kingdom and the organization we’ve been able to create.”

Celebrating his second Super Bowl win with the Chiefs, Coach Andy Reid told the crowd that “there’s no place you’d rather be, and no greater place to be than right here, baby. … Not very often are you able to say you’re the greatest team in the world, you have the greatest players in the world, have the greatest organization in the world and, most of all, the greatest fans in the world.”

The rally festivites wrapped up a day that began with some fans who slept overnight — and others arriving before sunrise —to get a prime spot downtown to celebrate the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl championship in four NFL seasons.

Players, coaches, team officials, family members and others rode double-decker buses past legions of fans, sometimes standing up to 10 people deep, as the parade rolled down a main downtown street on the way to the Union Station rally.

Many players got off the buses to dance, sign autographs, take selfies and occasionally hand out beers to supporters along the route. Some lucky fans were able to touch the Lombardi Trophy, which denoted the Chiefs’ win.

Most schools, many businesses and some government offices in the Kansas City metro area were closed to allow fans to enjoy the festivities. Most were in good spirits while waiting in long lines for food trucks, merchandise trucks and, of course, portable toilets. Police did not immediately report any major problems during the event.

After decades of championship drought, the city is gaining experience with victory parades. Four seasons ago, the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers for the team’s first Super Bowl championship in 50 years. That followed the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series in 2015, the city’s first baseball championship in 30 years.

Shellie Diehl, 46, of Kansas City, was seated about a block from Union Station, joined by her 8-year-old daughter, Skyler; 16-year-old daughter, Taylor; and a friend. Diehl said she came to the Chiefs parade in 2020 and decided to have mother-daughter time on Wednesday while celebrating Skyler’s first parade.

“The last one was so much fun, we decided we had to come to this one,” Diehl said. “We’re big Chiefs fans, and we wanted to celebrate a great day with the community.”

Some fans admitted that Kansas City might be getting a little spoiled.

“Kind of getting used to it, but that’s OK,” said Liz Barber, 50, of Shawnee, Kansas. “It is good.”

“We had a 50-year-drought, so it’s about time we had our own dynasty,” said David Cordray, 38, of Kansas City.

Some 25 Chiefs fans who arrived about 6 a.m. cooked up a breakfast feast, complete with corn on the cob, bacon and potatoes and all the trimmings — and they had steaks ready for later in the day. Dominic Zamora, 18, said the group of friends were continuing a tailgating tradition at Chiefs games.

“With Mahomes, there’s more to come,” Zamora said. “It’s going to be fun, and I’m excited to show up.”

Manuel Palacio, 48, was dressed in a cow’s suit in a tribute to Kansas City’s “Cowtown” nickname. He said he was a longtime Buffalo Bills fan who converted to the Chiefs after losing a bet with a Chiefs fan.

“I had to convert,” Palacio said. “It’s like being an Oakland Raiders fan; at some point you have to cheer for the team who keeps winning,” he said, laughing.

BILLS: Safety Damar Hamlin said he never intended to offend anyone for attending the Super Bowl wearing a jacket that critics deemed to feature an offensive depiction of Jesus.

“After talking with my parents I understand how my coat could have offended some people,” Hamlin wrote in a note posted on his Twitter account. “It was never my intentions to hurt or disrespect anyone, the coat is abstract art to me.”

Hamlin closed his two-post thread by saying he will continue to learn from the situation while adding: “My beliefs and Relationship with God is not tied to symbolic images.”

The second-year player continues recovering after having to be resuscitated on the field after going into cardiac arrest during a game in Cincinnati six weeks ago created a stir for being pictured wearing a Kanye West Eternal Saint blue varsity jacket during pregame ceremonies and sitting in NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s box at the Super Bowl in Arizona on Sunday.

The back of the jacket featured an abstract illustration of Jesus on the cross under the word “ETERNAL.” The front featured an abstract depiction of Jesus’ face and appears to reference a Bible verse that reads: “Without end or beginning there is no day and no night.”

Among the critics were former NFL running back Adrian Peterson, who referred to the jacket as “blasphemy” on Monday.

A day later, Peterson wrote in an Instagram post that he has since cleared the air with Hamlin.

“After speaking with Damar, I have an understanding that it didn’t come from a place of ill intent,” Peterson wrote. “I apologize for offending you, I just felt offended in that moment as a man who loves and respects our Lord and Savior.”

STEELERS: Longtime assistant coach John Mitchell retired after nearly three decades with the club.

The 71-year-old Mitchell won two Super Bowl rings in 29 seasons with the Steelers after first joining Bill Cowher’s staff in 1994 as a defensive line coach. Mike Tomlin retained Mitchell when he replaced Cowher in 2007 then promoted Mitchell to assistant head coach in 2017.

Mitchell, the longest-tenured coach on Pittsburgh’s staff by a wide margin, played an integral role in putting together defensive fronts that helped the Steelers win four AFC championships and a pair of Super Bowl titles in 2005 and 2008.

LIONS: Former Detroit Lions defensive back Stanley Wilson died earlier this month, according to TMZ. He was just 40 years old.

Wilson collapsed at Metropolitan State Hospital in Los Angeles County on Feb. 1. He was in the process of being transferred to the facility after being declared incompetent to stand trail for twice breaking into a Hollywood Hills home in August.

Autopsy results are pending toxicology, according to TMZ.

That incident was part of a string of post-career arrests, including three between 2016 and 2017. Twice Wilson attempted breaking-and-entering homes and was shot in the abdomen by a homeowner in one of the incidents. Wilson also tested positive for methamphetamine and was ordered to take part in a drug treatment program during that time.

The son of former NFL running back Stanley Wilson Sr., Wilson Jr. played collegiately at Stanford University. He was selected by the Lions in the third round of the 2005 draft and played three seasons with the franchise, appearing in 32 games and making nine starts.

Ahead of the 2008 campaign, Wilson suffered a torn Achilles in the preseason and never played in the NFL again.

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