The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team in the National Football League. They are based in Kansas City, Missouri where they play their home games at Arrowhead Stadium. So while their name references Kansas City, which straddles the Kansas-Missouri border, the Chiefs are specifically a Missouri team as their operations, stadium, and headquarters are all located on the Missouri side.

Deep Roots in Missouri

The first key fact is that Kansas City, where the Chiefs are located, is actually on the Missouri side of the state line. Kansas City straddles across the border between Kansas and Missouri. Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs’ home turf, is located firmly on the Missouri side of that state line border.

This alone should prove the Chiefs belong to Missouri, right? But let’s dig even deeper into the history books.

The Chiefs franchise started back in 1959 as the Dallas Texans, an original member of the upstart American Football League (AFL). After three struggling seasons in Dallas, founder Lamar Hunt moved the team north to Kansas City. They debuted as the Kansas City Chiefs in 1963.

This relocation was specifically to the Missouri side of Kansas City. Hunt chose Missouri over Kansas mainly due to better facilities and infrastructure on the state line’s eastern edge. He felt Kansas City, Missouri offered the best home for his new NFL team.

Over almost 60 years later, the franchise still calls Missouri home. Both through the AFL days in the 1960s and after the 1970 merger with the NFL, the Chiefs have always stationed on the Show-Me State side of the border.

Home Field Advantage in Missouri

Besides the off-field headquarters, the Chiefs’ on-field home shows their Missouri loyalty too. As I mentioned earlier, Arrowhead Stadium sits squarely on the Missouri side of the state line.

When Lamar Hunt moved the team from Dallas, part of the arrangement was building a new stadium in Kansas City. City officials provided land and funding support to construct a football-specific venue for Hunt’s Chiefs. This became Arrowhead, an iconic stadium well-known for its raucous crowds and intense home field advantage.

Arrowhead officially opened in 1972 and has hosted 45+ years of Chiefs games since. Through the team’s AFL Championships in the 1960s, two Super Bowl wins, and many playoff runs, Arrowhead has stood firm in Missouri soil.

Both the Chiefs’ practice facility and team headquarters also reside around Arrowhead Stadium on the Missouri side. Nearly all key infrastructure for the franchise lies on the Show-Me State side of things.

Shared Pride with Kansas

However, the Chiefs don’t only represent Missouri. There’s no doubt Kansas shares pride and ownership of the franchise too.

Just across the state border, many Kansas residents cheer for the Chiefs as one of their hometown teams. The Chiefs have “Kansas City” in the name purposely to reflect this half-Missouri, half-Kansas identity.

While not based in Kansas, the franchise does try to share the love with the Sunflower State. Up until 2009, the Chiefs hosted their summer training camp each year on the Kansas State University campus. They switched camps to Missouri Western State University but still do local outreach events across Kansas.

It’s also worth noting the AFC West rival Denver Broncos play just across the border from Kansas in Colorado. So the Chiefs end up representing Kansas football pride by default against divisional foes.

The debate around whether the Chiefs play for Kansas or Missouri has raged for over 50 years. But looking at history and logistics shows they clearly align with their Missouri home. The roots run deep on the Show-Me State side for this powerhouse NFL franchise.

Conclusion: The Chiefs Rep Missouri, But Share a Bond with Kansas

After digging into the key facts, these are my conclusions around the age-old Chiefs question:

Every piece of infrastructure – stadium, HQ, practice facility – point to Missouri as home
Founder Lamar Hunt chose the Missouri side back in 1963 for specific strategic reasons
Generations of greats from Len Dawson to Patrick Mahomes have repped Missouri on the field
But the “Kansas City” name and local pride show a bond with Kansas as well

So the final verdict seems pretty clear to me – the Chiefs are firmly a Missouri franchise. The evidence over 60 years shows Missouri certainly deserves to claim the Chiefs as their own.

However, the bond and shared fan passion between the team and Kansas can’t be ignored either. The Chiefs embrace supporting both states in the long-running “Border War” rivalry.

As a young Missouri native now, I suggest we share the Chiefs’ glory. After all, the Chiefs Kingdom spans across state lines thanks to support from “Chiefs Nation”. Wherever you reside, be proud that our hometown Chiefs rep Kansas City as an NFL force!