Ron Abel witnessed what is arguably the greatest 13 seconds in NFL history in person last Sunday.
And the high school principal is headed right back to Arrowhead Stadium as the Chiefs take on the Cincinnati Bengals at 2 p.m. today for the AFC championship.
Abel has purchased season tickets for the Kansas City Chiefs football games on and off since 1988. Last week, he witnessed quarterback Patrick Mahomes lead his team on a 13-second drive that tied the game followed by a win in overtime over the Buffalo Bills.
“It was unbelievable there,” Abel said. “Well, you can’t score in 13 seconds until Patrick Mahomes proved that that was wrong.”
Football coach Sean Hayden said everyone knows Abel is a big Chiefs fan. Staff at Eudora High School participate in “Red Friday,” which allows staff to wear Chiefs gear the Friday before a game.
Hayden said he has also been a Chiefs fan through the good and bad.
“The fan base is amazing, so it makes it tough to play there,” Hayden said.
Others across Eudora are also getting in the Chiefs spirit this weekend. Barbwire Barbecue began preparing a plan for the upcoming game earlier this week.
“The challenge of it is, it’s a 2 o’clock game, so that really kind of hits right into the lunch hour,” said Barbwire Barbecue co-owner Jason Musick.
The restaurant will take seven orders every 15 minutes Sunday to allow time for the staff to prepare each order.
“We also have that commitment to our guests, to our consumers that they place an online order, and they’re going to pick up at 1:30,” Musick said. “They know that the order should be ready right at 1:30 instead of having to wait 30, 45 minutes, like that’s just not fair.”
Barbwire Barbecue will close at 2:15 p.m. today, so the last time to be able to place an order is at 2 p.m.
Musick said closing at this time is a smart choice for the restaurant and will also allow his staff to watch the game.
Gene’s Heartland Foods will remain open during regular business hours for last-minute game day snacks.
Store manager Lance Handley said snack items like potato chips, beer, pop and ribs sell the most before a Chiefs game.
“I always have extra staff between the hours before the game starts and then kind of taper off staff when the game starts because I know nobody will be in here,” Handley said.
Today’s game will broadcast on CBS with the winner headed to the Super Bowl.
Reach reporter Hannah Nystrom at [email protected].
