The Japan Times - Mahomes vows repeat as Chiefs, fans celebrate Super Bowl

A sea of thousands of red-shirted Chiefs fans braved chilly temperatures to throng the parade route as open-top buses carrying Mahomes and his teammates made their way through the city.

Mahomes, who engineered a second-half comeback to seal the Chiefs' 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday and claim the second Super Bowl crown of his career, told fans he planned to be celebrating with them again next year.

"This is just the beginning -- we ain't done yet," Mahomes told the crowd.

"I'll make sure to hit y'all back next year, and I hope the crowd's the same."

Both Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce couldn't resist taking a dig at pundits who had expressed doubts that the Chiefs could prevail again this season.

The departure of key players such as receiver Tyreek Hill and safety Tyrann Mathieu left many wondering if the campaign would be a "rebuilding year."

"We're back again," Mahomes said. "Before we started this season, the AFC West said we were rebuilding.

"I'll be honest with you -- I don't know what rebuilding means. In our rebuilding year, we're world champs."

Kelce also weighed in, taking aim at "haters" who doubted the Chiefs' chances of even reaching the postseason.

"The haters were saying that the Chiefs would never make the playoffs," Kelce said.

"The haters were saying the Chiefs were done."

Kansas City's Super Bowl win on Sunday was the team's second NFL championship in four seasons. The franchise also reached the NFL showpiece in 2021, where they lost to Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Prior to their Super Bowl appearance in 2020, they had not graced an NFL championship game since 1970.

"It is great to be back here celebrating with you," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt told the crowd. "I'm glad it didn't take another 50 years to be here."

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid meanwhile saluted his team and the franchise as the "greatest" in the world.

"I'm very proud of these guys on the stage, very proud of our organization," Reid said.

"It's not very often you're able to say you're the greatest team in the world and have the greatest players in the world, and most of all have the greatest fans in the world. We love you."

K.Inoue--JT