ST. LOUIS – Sports fandom can be a minefield. Some fans believe there’s a right way and a wrong way to support the team, or that you can’t have a “back-up team” to pull for, or that your loyalties should depend solely on where you’re from. The admiration and pride derived from rooting for a team draws and creates an energy that can be directed—for good or ill—in many ways. After all, “fan” is merely a shortened version of “fanatic.”
That St. Louis fanaticism was on display Sunday night before Super Bowl LIX started.
In a Super Bowl first, celebrity super fans—actors Bradley Cooper and Jon Hamm—introduced the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
“Chiefs Kingdom! Make some noise for your AFC Champion and two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs!” yelled Hamm, wearing a no. 10 Chiefs jersey, his voice cracking under the weight of his power shout.
Cooper, a native of the Philadelphia region, grew up a passionate Eagles fan, expressing in a 2023 interview with Howard Stern that he would rather see the Eagles win another Super Bowl than win an Oscar for his role in “The Maestro.”
“I’m sick. I’m not lying,” Cooper said at the time.
Hamm is no stranger to being a diehard sports fan. He’s long been a fan of both the Blues and Cardinals, appearing in advertisements for the hockey club and narrating the highlight film for the 2011 World Series champions. Hamm even rode in the Blues’ Stanley Cup victory parade back in 2019.
But Hamm’s football loyalties have been called into question, with some on Twitter wondering why Hamm, a St. Louis native, would ever root for a Kansas City team, let alone be asked to introduce them during the Super Bowl.
Was (notable Kansas City resident) Paul Rudd busy? He was at Sunday’s game. Perhaps “Ant-Man” wanted to save his yelling for the game itself? Rob Riggle? Don Cheadle? The Chiefs had options, is what we’re saying.
Hamm, 53, would no doubt have grown up with the St. Louis Cardinals football team. There was an eight-year gap between the Cardinals moving to Phoenix, Arizona, and the Rams relocating to the Gateway City. Could Hamm have stopped paying attention to football? Or maybe his loyalties flew the coop with the football Cardinals?
Nope. Hamm became a supporter of the St. Louis Rams. And when the Rams left town under great acrimony, Hamm kept on rooting for the Rams.
But at some point, Hamm’s loyalties seem to have shifted back to his home state. He was spotted wearing a Chiefs jersey while attending Super Bowl LVIII and narrated the Super Bowl ring hype video for the team’s 2023 season.
Since St. Louis no longer has an NFL franchise, maybe Hamm considered himself a free agent? Dear Mr. Hamm, can the City of St. Louis interest you in the Battlehawks?