Live updates: Chiefs Super Bowl parade is a Valentine to players, fans and Kansas City

Feel the love, Kansas City.

Now that the Chiefs have won Super Bowl LVIII (their third in five years, you may have heard), the team and fans are expressing their adoration for one another with a Valentine’s Day victory parade.

A series of buses will carry partying players up top — though some Chiefs have been known to hop off, stretch their legs and high-five fans. It’s all set to start at 11 a.m. at Sixth Street and make its way down Grand Boulevard, culminating in a victory rally set for 12:45 p.m., or thereabouts, in front of Union Station.

Alas for KC Swifties, Taylor Swift opted out of spending Valentine’s Day at the parade with her beau, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, because she had to jet off to Australia to resume her Eras Tour.

But there’s still plenty of love to go around.

We’ve dispatched our team of reporters and photographers along the parade route. Here’s what they’re finding:

Gunfire reported at end of Chiefs parade

Several people have been shot after gunfire erupted during the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl victory parade Wednesday, according to police scanner traffic.

The gunfire occurred on the west side of Union Station and there were reports of multiple people with gunshot wounds.

“Shots have been fired around Union Station. Please leave the area,” the Kansas City Police Department said on Twitter.

This story will be updated with additional details as they become available.

Chris Jones: ‘I ain’t going nowhere’

A fiery Chris Jones came on after Mahomes, and he pointed out that the Chiefs were underdogs on their Super Bowl run.

His speech included some colorful language that slipped through the Channel 41 broadcast, but ended with a notable point, considering his pending free agency...

“I ain’t going nowhere,” Jones yelled.

Jones, who shouted that he’ll be staying in KC for years to come, added a message for the crowd.

“We did it for y’all, baby,” Jones yelled out. “KC, we are back, again, to be world champions, baby.

“... KC, I tell you something man. This year was different. ... The journey, the fight, the individuals, it was different baby. And you know not a doubt in my mind that we were going to bring it back to this city.”

He continued.

“You know what? It’s a three-peat,” Jones said. “I need three of those things baby. We ain’t done yet. We ain’t done yet.”

‘Friends in Low Places’ (Kelce’s version)

It wouldn’t be a Super Bowl celebration without a viral Travis Kelce moment, and this year’s event included the Chiefs tight end singing his version of “Friends in Low Places.”

Patrick Mahomes takes the mic

Chiefs coach Andy Reid addressed the crowd at Union Station ... after Patrick Mahomes led the crowd in a chant of “An-dy, An-dy, An-dy.”

He gave a short address, thanking the fans for coming out and saying the Super Bowl trophy was for them.

Then came the quarterback.

“Kansas City, let me hear you one time!” Mahomes yelled out. “What a year to battle through the adversity, to continue to go, to go for that championship.

“They all doubted us. I don’t want to hear any different. But you know who came through in the end? That’s the Kansas City Chiefs.”

Later, Mahomes added: “We’re going for that three-peat. ... Three (Super Bowls), the first time in NFL history. We’re doing it.”

Swag Surfin’ ... even in a tree

It wouldn’t be a parade without some live music, including from Tech N9ne. Also performing were Fast Life Yungstaz, the group known for the song “Swag Surfin’” — which Chiefs fans are plenty familiar with.

Taylor Swift even danced along to the song at a game. That clip went viral.

On Wednesday, fans joined in with the live performance at Union Station ... with one even doing so from a tree. Really.

A shirtless Mahomes, happy Kelce

From the time the players crested the hill at Eighth street, they were out of their buses, running, strutting, literally skipping down the parade route from one side of the street to the other. Linebacker Willie Gay strutted, shirt off, gold beads around his neck, a ripped Colossus. On the bus, guard Trey Smith strapped on a championship belt, left the bus and high-fived the cheering crowd.

Arms outstretched, in a black leather jacket, wide receiver Marquez Valdez-Scantling walked down the center of the street, chin up. Then to “MVS! MVS! MVS!” he and teammates danced in beneath a rain of red, gold and white confetti. Players chugged from gold champagne bottles, stopped and took selfies backed by fans.

Cheers turned to an unstoppable roar for tight end Travis Kelce, soon followed by quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Both walked and ran from one side of the parade route to the other.

Mahomes, who began the parade in a red starter jacket and shirt, soon stripped off both with the help of his wife, Brittany, who held the shirt and kissed, or blew raspberries, on his belly. He put them on and stripped them off for the whole route. At one point, bare-chested, he was handed the Lombardi Trophy, glimmering beneath a sunny blue sky, and hoisted it above his head.

Players, and Brittany Mahomes, took turns grabbing a Chiefs flag and waving it as a banner. Teammates embraced in the road time and again as they made their way to Union Station.

Kelce grabbed a microphone and shouted to the fans.

“Say it with me! Not once, not twice, but threeeeee times!”

‘Way better than LA,’ says former Charger

Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill, who signed with KC as a free agent after four years with the Los Angeles Chargers, made it clear his current home is “way better” than his last one.

In an epic rant, in which he grabbed a TV microphone and went off about the Chiefs’ playoff path, Tranquill shouted, “It’s way better than LA, I promise you that. Oh my gosh, look at these fans.”

Later, Tranquill added on Channel 41, “We’re stacking Lombardi trophies. ... Miami, got ‘em. Buffalo, got ‘em, in a blizzard. Baltimore, ‘Can’t beat them, big bad wolf.’ No chance. And then the big, bad 49ers. Coming in, ‘Oh, this, that and the other.’ Big Red, T-Swift and the boys came and took it.”

The parade kicks off

Shortly after 11 a.m., the buses started rolling from Sixth Street down Grand. The early vehicles carried dignitaries, including Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. Soon, perhaps the most important part of the parade entered the route: the Lombardi Trophy.

And then, what everyone came to see, the Chiefs players: kicker Harrison Butker, cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and, the biggest stars, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, as confetti rained down.

The chant in the air: “Back-to-back champions.”

The music from the bus: “You gotta fight, for your right, to parrrty!”

Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce, shared a bus with Chiefs honchos, general manager Brett Veach and president Mark Donovan.

Veach flashed an “OK” hand signal to fans, with three fingers raised — the number of championships the Chiefs have won since he joined the team.

Soon the buses emptied out as the Chiefs players hit the road, greeting fans.

Wide receiver Mecole Hardman, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass, hopped off his bus and ran with a giant Chiefs flag.

The downside of players on the ground: Spectators were so packed in that those toward the back couldn’t see the stars they came to watch.

He’s the real goat

At 7 days old, Patrick the goat might be the youngest, and fluffiest, parade goer. Goat guardians Lainey Mae and Shannon Peterson said they didn’t have a goat babysitter for the parade, so they brought him.

“We’re trying to meet his daddy today,” Peterson said. She planned to hold the goat up like Simba the lion when Patrick Mahomes passed.

In a Chiefs onesie over his diaper, Patrick was passed between fawning fans for photos.

A bunch of players signed Patrick’s jersey, including safety Justin Reid, running back Isiah Pacheco and cornerbacks Jaylen Watson and Trent McDuffie. Pacheco and Brittany Mahomes even got a chance to carry him around.

He was, indeed, the goat.

No bones about it

Just south of 18th and Grand, the Corn Dog crew was keeping Chiefs fans entertained.

“Corn Diggety Dogs!” Grant Mong shouted. “They won us the Super Bowl!

“What happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas! We brought it back home!”

Mong was referring to the “corn dog,” the name of the Chiefs’ winning play in Super Bowl LVII vs. the Eagles and a similar concept — on the play “Tom & Jerry” — KC used on the winning touchdown in overtime against the 49ers.

Mong and Casey Kapple, both of Overland Park, and Marvin Mastin, of Kansas City, were dressed in red helmets and carrying giant corn dog signs and boxes of corn dogs. Mastin meandered through the crowd on stilts.

Mong is a familiar character at the Super Bowl parades. Last year, he and a group including his daughter, Mallory, brought along a skeleton, which ended up missing after Chiefs wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette nabbed it as the players passed.

That prompted an online search for the bones, and they were later returned.

This year, that skeleton was safely tucked away inside the Reactor Design Studio next to the corn dog display.

But a new, larger one was perched on top of the building, safe from the crowd.

“Nobody’s gonna get away with him,” Mong said.

Emma Gariety was hoping her victory parade decor will go viral.

The Chiefs fan dressed a skeleton — named Skellie Mahomes — complete with the quarterback’s jersey, red and yellow pants and curled hair extensions sewn into a wig cap.

Gariety first crafted Skellie for a Super Bowl watch party with friends. Around 2 a.m. before the parade, she fashioned a Lombardi Trophy from foil for the skeleton to hold in its left hand.

Her father-in-law Chris Early helped Gariety attach Skellie to a street pole using PVC pipes and zip ties, so fans could stop and take pictures with him.

Early said he has prayer candles featuring Kelce, Mahomes, Andy Reid and Taylor Swift that he lights minutes before kickoff each time he watches a game at home.

The candles are in a special order, with Kelce and Swift’s candles looking at each other and Mahomes staring at a replica Super Bowl ring Early got for being a season ticket holder.

Early and Gariety said they love that the Chiefs have continued to win major games and create excitement across the city.

“Let’s make this an annual thing,” Early said of the victory parade.

Gariety said then she could create a skeleton replica of Travis Kelce, maybe named Travis Skellcie.

Drink up

Fans arrived early, and so did the drinks.

Fern Bar owner Bryan Arri and employees Jack Hatzfield and Sarah Martin were serving margs and burritos outside 2041 Broadway since 9 a.m. They were catching a lot of northbound foot traffic as people found their spots.

Arrive early, stay long

Hundreds of thousands of fans were expected for the parade and rally. And hordes of national media were joining them to document the celebration of what some are calling “America’s Team.” The “Today” show and “Good Morning America” were among the national outlets set up outside the National WWI Museum and Memorial, with a fine view of Union Station.

Long before the sun rose, fans were looking for parking and prime spots to watch the parade and rally.

Sara Grika camped out before 7 a.m. to secure a coveted spot at the National World War I Museum and Memorial’s courtyard overlooking Union Station.

“We always come here. It’s a great view. And you know, it gets a little crazy down there,” Grika said, pointing down to Union Station as droves of fans added to the massive crowd.

A lifelong Chiefs fan, Grika said she’s celebrating “just how great Mahomes is, what a great soul he is. And just like he said, don’t say we’re the underdogs.”

Fans found all sorts of ways to get a good view. In the parking garage across from the T-Mobile Center, every floor was filled with fans peering over the edge, making sure they’d have a good view.

By 7:40 a.m., the line for coffee and hot chocolate near Pershing and Grand was 40 people deep. Folding chairs along the route: five deep, with fans bundled in Chiefs blankets against the 35-degree chill, music thumping in the distance.

Speaking of lines, as the morning progressed, the wait for the portable toilets grew to 20 minutes or more.

Love for the Chiefs, love for Taylor Swift

Britney Quintrell, 26, of Kansas City, who has been to all three Chiefs parades, wanted to shower love on both the Chiefs and superstar Taylor Swift, who she assumed wouldn’t attend. Still: “I want Travis to tell her people here love her…or that I love her,” Quintrell said.

Plenty of vendors were selling Chiefs merch, but a few were also selling Taylor Swift jerseys, with number 87, of course.

Making a spectacle

Sharon Washington, 60, was drawing a lot of attention in front of Union Station with her 7 foot sign created by students at J.C. Harmon High School in KCK. Washington is the coordinator for the before- and after-school program at the school, and students used construction paper and photos to create a giant tribute to the Chiefs.

“It took us about two days to make,” she said. “They were very happy with how it came out and people have been walking up and wanting to take pictures with it.”

As she was speaking someone walked by and yelled “Chiefs! 10 out of 10 on the poster.”

Enjoli Gavin-Rudd was hard to miss at the parade with her 68-inch balloon.

“It’s Valentine’s Day and we won, so I figured why not show some love with a big balloon — Chiefs style.” She started her business, Balloonista, last Valentine’s Day. For Wednesday’s creation, she filled up the giant balloon with 20% helium and air, and made the tassel out of tissue paper.

What does Gavin-Rudd love about the Chiefs?

“I love that it has completely unified the city,” she said.

In her neighborhood, she heard collective gasps during the game and then, a celebration.

There’s a “feel good feeling,” she said.

Celebrating Chiefs and family

Cortne and Sharekka Green found their spot near 20th and Grand around 1 a.m. They set up tables, lawn chairs, heaters and a feast that included chicken, cold cuts, candy, Rice Krispies and alcohol.

While this was their third Super Bowl parade, Cortne said it’s the first time the whole family could enjoy the celebration together, with loved ones who traveled from Indianapolis and Texas.

Sharekka said she loves seeing the players and local businesses represented at the parade.

“Seeing that trophy come down is like you’re walking down the aisle to get married and they’re the bride,” she said.

Seeing the Chiefs is a great Valentine’s Day present, Sharekka said, but she joked that doesn’t mean Cortne is “off the hook.”

Spreading love

The importance of the parade runs deep for Leonard Higgins, 37, and wife Vanessa, of Lawrence. They wore T-shirts as a valentine to their daughter, Brianna Higgins, 15, who was shot and killed in Olathe in January.

Includes reporting by The Star’s Eric Adler, Noelle Alviz-Gransee, J.M. Banks, Laura Bauer, Scott Chasen, Joseph Hernandez, David Hudnall, Andrea Klick, Katie Moore, Eleanor Nash, Glenn E. Rice, Sarah Ritter, Judy L. Thomas and Jenna Thompson.