KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clark Hunt proudly held aloft the AFC championship trophy bearing his father's name, the one signifying that his Kansas City Chiefs were headed back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four years, and reflected that not so long ago, success seemed elusive.
It had been 50 years between Super Bowl trips when Chiefs coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes led them back the NFL's apex in 2020 — five full decades of heartbreak, disappointment and oftentimes despair.
The always-pragmatic Hunt uses the stretch in football's wilderness to keep the current ride in perspective.