When Super Bowl LVIII kicks off, the Kansas City Chiefs will be without their matriarch for the franchise history.
Norma Hunt, the wife of Chiefs' founder Lamar Hunt, and mother to current CEO and Chairman Clark Hunt, passed away at 85 years old on June 4, 2023.
"Mom was steadfastly devoted to her family and fiercely passionate about her family's sports teams," Clark Hunt said in a statement in June. "She was by our father Lamar's side every step of the way – from the merger of the AFL and the NFL to the formation of Major League Soccer, World Championship Tennis, the North American Soccer League, and their founding investment in the Chicago Bulls. She was the only person we knew who rivaled his love of sports. The two of them found such joy together, whether at home, or in stadium stands around the world."
At the team's AFC Championship Game win during the 2019-20 postseason, Norma had a chance to hoist her husband's namesake trophy for the first time. It also wouldn't be her last as the team would bring the Lamar Hunt Trophy home in 2020-21 and 2022-2023.
What she's most known for outside of her kindness and grace is her attendance at every Super Bowl dating back to Super Bowl I between the Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.
The First Lady of Football
Norma is the only known woman to have attended each of the 57 Super Bowls leading up to Super Bowl LVIII. She attended 40 of those games with her husband, Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt. She continued the tradition of going to the games since his passing and leading up to her own, without missing a single Super Bowl.
"We did have so much fun going to the Super Bowls," Norma said back in 2019. "(Lamar) loved the game. Everything about it."
"We went to 40 Super Bowls together," she continued. "Lamar loved telling people that I had gone to them all. He actually went through a lot of trouble to find that out. He checked with the other teams and league office, 'Do you have any girls that have seen all of these games?' Which is very typical of him, he was a very statistics-oriented guy. I'd always say, 'There's some girl out there, some fan.' And he'd always say, 'But nobody came to the first (Super Bowl).'"
Her favorite part of attending is an opportunity to watch the best athletes in the world compete.
"My favorite memories from the games don't relate to what went on in the games specifically, as much as it relates to getting to see these elite players competing," she said. "The enormous talent that they have. This is a special moment for people who truly love football."
She attended her 57th and final Super Bowl last year and watched the Chiefs defeat the Eagles to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for a third time. It was the perfect conclusion to her streak as the only woman to attend every Super Bowl.
How Chiefs have honored Norma Hunt this season and will continue to do so in Super Bowl LVIII
After her death, the Chiefs chose to honor Norma Hunt with commemorative patches on home and away jerseys. The patches feature Norma's "NKH" initials in gold lettering at the center of a football.
"The football shape is identical to the one in Lamar Hunt’s patch, reminding us of their devotion to each other & their shared passion for the Kansas City Chiefs," the team wrote on social media.
The team has also now affixed these patches to their Super Bowl LVIII jerseys.
As for the AFC Championship Game, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes revealed they had made a promise to Clark Hunt.
“We were gonna win this trophy with Norma Hunt’s name on our jersey, we promise you that,” Mahomes told CBS broadcaster, Jim Nantz. “So, we went out and got that thing.”
Clark Hunt spoke about just what it meant to him and his family to hoist the Lamar Hunt Trophy again.
"It's a special time for our family, all the way around, getting to participate in these games," Hunt said. "This year is probably more poignant because my mom is not here for the first time. She was definitely in the back of our minds throughout the week and tonight."
The team will surely look to carry that same motivation into Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers.
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