One of the biggest complaints I’ve had for years was for referring to KC as a Cowtown…
Dates back to when I was growing up and locals lamented people on the coasts and in larger (presumably hipper) cities thinking of Kansas City as a “flyover” town with little to no sophistication or couth.
I never fully understood that at first – nor did it matter – but I grew into understand it better, after I began promoting concerts and writing for The Pitch and Star.
Thing is though, its never really took hold with me.
Guess I bought into all the arguments about us having the Nelson Atkins Museum, the Chiefs and Royals football and baseball teams and an “international” airport.
Oh, I was more than willing to look down on neighboring towns and cities like Topeka, Wichita and the like while thinking highly of all the cool stuff KC had.
Shoot, I graduated from high school and attended college in Tucson and most people here that went to the University of Arizona conceded that Tucson was a far better city, but if you wanted to get ahead in life, you moved to Phoenix.
When I went public and started writing I had to defend myself for jokingly referring to KC via its rural roots.
At which point I noticed many locals were obsessed with pointing out people who made it big and had connections to Kansas City.
OK, Walt Disney is hard to argue with – less so Rush Limbaugh, Pay Metheny or Mancow Muller.
I even remember when Don Cheadle was beginning to make it big.
Can’t say for sure, but maybe in the late ’90s I remember local movie marketer Jody Rovick hyping it based on Cheadle being a former KC guy.
Well, guess what?
Dutifully, I did a schmooze on Cheadle – and I seem to recall he flew into KC for the screening with some of his still local family attending at AMC’s Ward Parkway theater.
So is Cheadle a true to life, born in KC native?
Yes and no.
He was at a relatively early part of Cheadle’s career – but he subsequently has done far better.
Now he’s supposedly worth like $35 million!
So while Cheadle was indeed born here in 1964, he moved several times at an early age and lived in Lincoln, Nebraska from 1970 to 74 – then later in Denver.
Aside from Rovick’s early on promotional movie schmooze does Cheadle still celebrate his KC roots?
Far from it.
There’s little to no reference to Cheadle’s being from the (excuse me) Cowtown that I can find.
Most recently he weighed in on KC being in the Super Bowl while downplaying the Cancel Culture.
The topic was Cheadle doing a Super Bowl commercial with his lookalike brother.
“You’re no stranger to Super Bowl commercials,” Cheadle was asked.
“It’s the Super Bowl that my team happens to be in and they’re going to win it,” Cheadle shot back.
As in our hometown Chiefs?
No way!
“Down with the Chiefs,” Cheedle added.
So much for celebrating famous folks, just because they got trapped in KC for however many years!
I find it interesting how the so called local famous people all stay famous every where but here.
Do any of them keep a home here?
Come back and visit on a regular bases?
Nope, they hauled ass out of here and stay out of here.
Kudos to George Brett for sticking around. But that’s about it. Soon as Mahomie is done with the Chiefs he’ll have a one way ticket to anywhere but here.
Probably. unless his wife and children become more involved here, so maybe…
Doubt he will be doing sports on KMBC Channel 9 though
Unless your from New York or LA, you will hardly ever see a celeb still live in their hometown at least in TV or film. Look at Sylvester Stallone. He’s more Philadelphia then cheese steak. Yet he hasen’t lived there since the late-60s. Even large cities like Chicago few TV or film celebs still live there. Only one I remember was Chris Farley before he died.
As for sports celebs like Mahomes. It’s always 50/50. In Pittsburgh few of the ’70s Steelers still live in Pittsburgh. Bradshaw, Swann and Greene don’t call Pittsburgh home. Yet Franco Harris does. And Mario Lemieux stayed and became the Pen’s owner.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Mahomes goes back to Texas after he’s done with football. Why would he stay here? He doesn’t seem like a coach or front office guy. Nor do I see him with a radio tv show or doing sports reporting locally.
I thought Derrick Thomas was going back to South Florida after he was done.
You are probably correct…
That said, the main reason people like Len Dawson sought a TV career are similar to other sports professionals who thrived in the era before super big bucks were being shelled out.
Jim Lynch and Willie Lanier, for example, both worked for my father at BC Christopher as stockbrokers in the off seasons.
These days a media career is far preferred, otherwise, pretty much nobody cares.
Isn’t Walt Disney from Spain?
Thank gosh the HB man is back!