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Not household names, but Niemann, Allegretti among local products playing key roles for Chiefs

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MIAMI — The connections between Super Bowl LIV and the Chicago Bears are actually pretty minimal, but the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers both have multiple ties to the Chicagoland area.

Kansas City’s backup linebacker and special teams demon, Ben Niemann is a minor cult hero in Missouri and Kansas, thanks in part to his Cinderella story just making the team in 2018 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Iowa, and more so thanks to his nickname, “Steaming Niemann,” hung on him by fellow inside ‘backer Reggie Ragland.

However, Niemann is a major celebrity right now in the Sycamore/DeKalb area after a starring role at Sycamore High School led him to the Big 10.