John Steigerwald: Chiefs fans deserved Super Bowl title

The right team won.

With the possible exception of the Browns, no team’s fans deserved a Super Bowl win more than the Chiefs.

The 49ers fans have had five Super Bowl wins to celebrate, and I’m pretty sure there are a lot more real fans in Kansas City than there are in San Francisco.

Imagine if the Steelers’ last Super Bowl win was XIV in 1979 and the next one came in 2029. That’s what it’s been like for Chiefs fans. Fifty years.

Steelers fans are losing their patience with Mike Tomlin because he’s only been to two and won one.

If you’re a fan of Pittsburgh’s pro teams, here’s some perspective for you: In the 50 years since the Chiefs won Super Bowl IV In 1970, the Pirates, Steelers and Penguins have won 14 championships.

The Chiefs and Royals have combined for three — two of them in the last five years.

In 1970, Roberto Clemente was still playing right field for the Pirates.

Chuck Noll had just finished his first season as the Steelers’ head coach with a 1-13 record.

Terry Bradshaw was several days away from being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Franco Harris was a sophomore at Penn State. Jack Lambert was in high school.

In 1970, no quarterbacks were taking shotgun snaps, and nobody had dreamed of lining up five wide receivers on a play.

A 30-second ad in Super Bowl IV cost $78,000. A 30-second ad in Sunday’s game cost $5 million.

Lots of things have changed since the last time the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, but one thing has remained constant. They have always played in a great football town.

Kansas City has always been one of my favorite places to cover the Steelers on the road. It’s a lot like Pittsburgh, and the only stadium that I’ve been to that was louder than Arrowhead was the Astrodome in Houston, and that had a dome.

You can be pretty sure they were drinking mostly beer at the Super Bowl parties in Kansas City, while most 49ers fans were probably sipping wine.

A Chiefs fan would probably have to be at least 62 years old to have any real appreciation for what it’s like to have a Super Bowl winner.

It should be a heckuva parade.

And the way the Chiefs did it makes it even more special. They are the first team ever to come back from double-digit deficits three times in the postseason.

And their coach, Andy Reid, deserved it, too. He’s the sixth winningest coach in NFL history and appears to be one of the most well liked coaches in the league.

There’s also something special about winning your first Super Bowl at 61. And Sunday’s win means the last two Super Bowl titles have been one by 60-something head coaches, neither of whom would appear to be retiring any time soon.

These Chiefs are going to be around for a while. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was named MVP and maybe deservedly so, but there isn’t a coach in the league who would take him over Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes is 24. Chiefs fans won’t have to wait 50 years for another championship as long as he stays healthy.

It’s hard to imagine the Steelers not winning another Super Bowl until 2059, but there are lots of old timers in Kansas City who could tell you what it feels like.

Of course, there are lots of Pirates fans who will probably be able to relate to a 50-year drought in 2029.