Hey, NFL Draft, Kansas City is in Missouri. Outsiders just never understand
Sportscaster Dan Patrick reminisced with Travis Kelce on Wednesday, asking the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and two-time Super Bowl champ to “take me back to the draft,” in 2013 when the Chiefs picked Kelce in the third round.
“Now, did you know if it was Kansas City, Missouri, or Kansas City, Kansas,” Patrick asked, laughing.
“See, I didn’t know, I thought it was Kansas for sure,” Kelce admitted. “I thought Kansas City was 1,000 percent in Kansas. and I made the huge mistake of that.”
Kelce knows better now, but people still get tripped up by Kansas City’s geographical quirk. And that can really tick off the locals.
Is Kansas City in Missouri or Kansas?
Yes.
There are two Kansas Cities. One is in Missouri, the other in Kansas.
Kansas City, Missouri, has the national spotlight now as the host city of the NFL Draft, which runs Thursday through Saturday.
Thousands of football fans have come to town. And it’s a sure bet some think they’re in Kansas, even though draft headquarters are at Union Station, which sits on the Missouri side of the state line.
(Here’s your quick history lesson: Kansas City is named for the Kansas River, which flows into the Missouri River and helped make a little Missouri town a real city.)
Should we be worried that even airline pilots sound confused?
ESPN’s Mike Greenberg tweeted from his flight to Kansas City on Tuesday.
“Pilot just referenced a ‘smooth trip to Kansas’ as we prepare to take off for KC. Should I take it upon myself to correct him? I never know the etiquette in situations like this,” Greenberg wrote.
“Come to think of it, no one around me batted an eye. Now I’m wondering if I’m on the wrong plane.”
Greenberg, in town for the draft, had the right plane. It landed at the new Kansas City International Airport, which is in Missouri no matter what the pilot said.
“You are flying into Missouri, not Kansas,” one of Greenberg’s Twitter followers replied.. “I’d be worried he’s thinking about landing you in Johnson County Executive,” referencing a small airport on the Kansas side.
Pilot just referenced a “smooth trip to Kansas” as we prepare to take off for KC.
Should I take it upon myself to correct him? I never know the etiquette in situations like this.
Come to think of it, no one around me batted an eye. Now I’m wondering if I’m on the wrong plane.— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) April 25, 2023
One of Greenberg’s followers, Chiefs fan Terrance Carter, was more magnanimous.
“Greeny, welcome to Kansas City, MISSOURI. It’s a common mistake that people not from here make,” he wrote. “2 separate cities, 2 separate states that share the same border. You will be hosting the #NFLDraft on the Missouri side! But we all a part of #ChiefsKingdom!”
Past experience suggests someone on a national broadcast during the draft will mistakenly reference “The Wizard of Oz” or the Yellow Brick Road. Or Dorothy, though the only pigskin she ever touched was on the farm.
At media night before the Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles in this year’s Super Bowl, Eagles cornerback Darius Slay pulled a random question out of a bucket: What state is Kansas City in?
“He replied: “Kansas. Reporters told him otherwise,” The Star’s Chiefs reporter Herbie Teope tweeted.
Eagles CB Darius Slay pulls out a random question from a bucket, the question is “What state is Kansas City in?” He replied: “Kansas.”
Reporters up front let him know Missouri.
This is media night. pic.twitter.com/6wY138sr3k— Herbie Teope (@HerbieTeope) February 7, 2023
Hello, Kansas!
Last year after Sir Elton John performed in Kansas City — Missouri — a thank-you popped up on his Twitter account.
It said: “What a great night @tmobilecenter in Arkansas City!”
By and large people laughed off the gaffe because Elton John is, well, an icon. And British.
“Oh dear. You were in Kansas City. Wrong state and wrong city,” one of his followers responded.
He joined a long line of performers who skipped the geography lesson before playing here. Some have shouted “Hello, Kansas!” from the stages of T-Mobile Center, Arrowhead Stadium and other venues on the Missouri side. (We’re looking at you, Ed Sheeran.)
But social media was less kind when then-President Donald Trump congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs for winning the Super Bowl in 2020:
“Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs on a great game, and a fantastic comeback, under immense pressure,” Trump tweeted. “You represented the Great State of Kansas and, in fact, the entire USA, so very well. Our Country is PROUD OF YOU!”
Oops.
The tweet quickly disappeared, but not before people grabbed screenshots and vilified the commander-in-chief for not knowing his own country better.
Later, when The Star’s Blair Kerkhoff tweeted that the Chiefs victory parade would be in Kansas City, a slew of smart alecks wondered: Which Kansas City?
10 times out of 10, it’s KCMO
On Wednesday, Kansas City sports fan The Fake Ned, who has nearly 17,000 followers on Twitter, offered out-of-towners his version of the local geography.
“Welcome to Kansas City weary travelers!” he tweeted. “We’re generally pretty excited to see y’all here. However, just to avoid any awkward situations.. here’s a few things you DON’T say to Kansas Citians:
“1) Kansas City is in BOTH Kansas and Missouri. BUT when you talk about ‘Kansas City’ 10 times out of 10 you’re talking about the Missouri side …
“6) If you reference college sports, be cautious. … You’re either a Kansas fan, a Missouri fan or “Other” — No. Nobody here that’s a Missouri fan is particularly happy that we went to the SEC and, yes, we still (bleeping) hate Kansas.
“Kansas fans aren’t fond of us either, but they won’t look up from their gold plated iPhones to admit it. Basically, if you want to pick a fight in a bar, start some KS vs MO bull****.”