We have a new NFL-themed Hallmark movie this year. It's called Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. Of course it's about the Chiefs, because Hallmark is in Kansas City. Here's the set-up: Alana Higman is a 20-something woman whose parents met when their parents both bought season tickets to the Chiefs back in 1967. The two families have been obsessed with the Chiefs ever since, and they own a store that sells Chiefs memorabilia. (It's called "KC Corner," and it has this really cool sign where the "KC" looks like the KC on the Chiefs' helmets), along with two arrowheads.
Anyway, Alana is going to take over the store. She tells her family that there's someone coming to the score on Tuesday that she wants everyone to meet. They all think that she's finally met a guy -- but no, it's someone from the Chiefs' Fan Engagement operation. The family is up for Chiefs Fan of the Year -- if they win, they get a special tour of the stadium and sideline passes. The family is excited.
Now we go to Chiefs Headquarters, where we meet Derrick Taylor, the Director of Fan Engagement. He gets called out by someone -- a manager of some kind -- who believes that his office isn't festive enough. And then he talks to some of his co-workers, who give him a hard time because he has no social life.
ReplyDeleteThis is PHENOMENAL! I've got to go find this movie.
DeleteI'm going to spend the whole movie thinking that this guy's name is Derrick Thomas, not Derrick Taylor.
ReplyDeleteOf course.
DeleteAnyway, Derrick's friends tell him he should go to Independence, and have barbeque at Norma and Nic's. Now we know that this place is owned by Alena's grandparents, and sure enough, both her grandparents and her parents are in the restaurant when he arrives. (The greeter is played by Travis Kelce's mom.)
ReplyDeleteDerrick's never had Kansas City barbeque before, so Alena's mom and grandmother start talking to him. Alena then walks into the restaurant, and the mom and grandmother run off so they can talk to each other.
ReplyDeleteNow the grandmother is back with famous banana pudding.
ReplyDeleteNow Alena and Derrick are doing "Light the Street," where the folks on this block in Independence decorate the whole street for Christmas. All of this is taking place on the Saturday before the Tuesday where the person from Fan Engagement is supposed to come out and interview them all for Fan of the Year.
ReplyDeleteThey go to KC Corner, but Derrick can't tell them he works for the Chiefs -- it's already been established that if anyone in Kansas City hears that you work for the Chiefs, they'll befriend you in hopes of getting tickets.
ReplyDeleteNow the family explains to Derrick that they have a magical Chiefs hat.
ReplyDeleteIn 1969, one of the grandfathers made a big donation to a Salvation Army Santa, and in exchange, Santa gave him the hat -- and said that if he wore it on Christmas, his wish would come true. He wished for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl -- and sure enough, they did!
ReplyDeleteI also want a prequel, "Holiday Hat: A Chiefs Giving Story," set in 1969.
DeleteThen a store employee accidentally sold the hat, and it was lost to the family for 50 years -- until 2019, when a customer wanted to sell them a vintage Chiefs hat. It turned out TO BE THE SAME HAT! So, of course, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2019. And then they went back to the Super Bowl in 2020, 2022, and 2023. (The hat only gets the Chiefs to the Super Bowl -- it doesn't win it for them).
ReplyDeleteDerrick asks about 2021, when the Chiefs lost to the Bengals in the AFC Title game, and they tell him that nobody wore the hat that year. They do not explain why.
ReplyDeleteWhoa!
DeleteThat's all for now -- I will come back to this later.
ReplyDeleteDerrick expresses skepticism about the magical power of the hat, and the mood in the room goes cold. Up to this point, the whole family has been encouraging him to be friendly with Alena, but now they all turn on him, and Alena asks him to leave.
ReplyDeleteNow it's Tuesday, and Derrick has returned to KC Connect. The family is unhappy to see him, because he is not a True Believer and because they are waiting for the guy from the Chiefs who is supposed to interview them for Fan of the Year. Alena tells him to go, and of course he explains that he cannot go because he is, in fact, the guy from the Chiefs who is supposed to interview them for Fan of the Year.
ReplyDeleteNow Alena is enraged because he didn't tell them that he worked for the team. She doesn't believe that this is a coincidence, and she doesn't trust him.
ReplyDeleteAlena: "My family literally exists because of this team." Derrick: "Show me."
ReplyDeleteMissouri!
DeleteSo they go into a portion of the store that serves as a "Fan Cave." They have framed jerseys of Len Dawson, Ed Podolak, and Willie Roaf. And they start to explain about Len Dawson. Derrick claims to know all about Len Dawson, but we know that he spent most of his childhood in Europe and that he hasn't lived in Kansas City for very long, so Alena doesn't believe he's a Real Chiefs Fan.
ReplyDeleteBut we interrupt this movie for the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, where Florida and Tulane are playing for the Unofficial College Football Championship.
ReplyDeleteTulane and Florida were both in the SEC from 1933 through 1965, but they only played each other 10 times during that stretch -- and they haven't played each other at all since 1984. Florida leads the all-time series 13-6-2, the Gators have won the last 11 meetings, and Tulane hasn't beaten Florida since 1946. This is the first time they've ever met in a bowl.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, Florida leads Tulane 6-0.
ReplyDeleteWait I thought there was some movie out there about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they figure prominently in the remainder of "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story."
ReplyDeleteFlorida won the Gasparilla Bowl 33 to 8, so they retain the U.C.F.C. The next U.C.F.C match will be on Saturday, August 30, 2025 in Gainesville, Fla. It will feature the Florida Gators and the Long Island University Sharks.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, XM Radio's 70's on 7 is playing Casey Kasem's countdown for December 18, 1976. On December 18, 1976, Kentucky lost for the first time in Rupp Arena -- they were beaten 70 to 68 in the finals of the U.K.I.T. by Utah.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in State College, Pennsylvania, the Penn State Nittany Lions are hosting the Southern Methodist Mustangs in a First Round matchup in the NCAA Football playoff. The winner here goes to play Boise St. in the Fiesta Bowl on December 31.
ReplyDeleteIt is 25 degrees in State College.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Notre Dame crushed Indiana in South Bend last night. The Irish won 27-17, and the game was not that close. I watched it -- it was like watching a game between LSU and Kentucky.
ReplyDeletePenn State is wearing white helmets with numerals on them. To most people, this will look strange -- but they were wearing helmets with numerals on them the first time I saw Penn State, back in the early 1970's. So, to me, that's what Penn State is supposed to look like -- I've never gotten used to the blank helmets.
ReplyDelete