We found a shrine to Chiefs Kingdom in a small Kansas town on our road trip to Vegas

Editor’s Note: This is a dispatch from our Red Kingdom Road Trip. We’re connecting with Chiefs fans across the country ahead of the Super Bowl — share your story with us using this form. Read more from our journey to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl here on KansasCity.com, in our newsletters, or on The Star’s Instagram.

After packing up our Ford Explorer at the Kansas City Star’s office Sunday morning, we stopped by Union Station to snap a few quick photos before we hit the road.

Nearly immediately after we propped up our lifesize Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift cutouts against the car, a young girl bounded over, excited to take a picture with Taylor. Then, a couple wanted a photo. Then another one.

As we explained that we were driving to Vegas to catch the Super Bowl, everyone was excited, wishing us a safe drive. It was an ideal, quintessentially KC send-off.

A few hours later, we landed at our first stop in Sedgwick, Kansas, to meet Dennis Basye, a superfan whose house and yard are decked out with Chiefs memorabilia. Dennis’ son, friends and neighbors came out to join the fun, and it was incredibly sweet to see how excited everyone was about Dennis, our trip and the big game.

Arrowhead.... in Sedgwick, Kansas?

Right off the main street in Sedgwick, Kansas, a small town near Wichita, there’s a small football field that looks a lot like GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

The yard lines, each about a foot apart, are meticulously painted around the Kansas City Chiefs’ signature logo in the middle. Mini goalposts cap off the ends.

Standing in front of what many would describe as a Chiefs fan’s dream house is 72-year-old Dennis Basye, covered head to toe in red and gold. Dennis, a lifelong Kansas resident who’s been rooting for the Chiefs since he was a freshman in high school, was the first stop on our Red Kingdom Road Trip to Las Vegas — and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

Dennis’ “Chiefs Kingdom” didn’t come to life until recently. He began building everything on his own five years ago — his career in construction helped, he said. Every piece is customized by hand, from the decked-out, red 1965 Chevrolet firetruck to the “Kelce Bowl” sign he painted last year.

And he’s not done yet, either. Next year, he plans on building a 20-foot-tall Chiefs nutcracker.

It’s a display so elaborate, nearly everyone in Sedgwick — population 1,603 — knows Dennis and his house. But in recent years, his ultimate fan display has drawn both regional and national attention.

So many people were stopping by the house, Dennis and his son Travis Basye started keeping a guest book last year.

“It’s my dad, you know. He’s 72 years old and this is his way of having fun and enjoying life now,” Travis said. “I just like to sit and watch. It’s his legacy, and the attention he’s getting from it has been fun, too. I’ll definitely carry it on.”

Every time the Chiefs score a touchdown, Dennis blares a loud siren that echoes through the neighborhood. This Sunday, as the Chiefs head to their fourth Super Bowl in five years, he’s ready to sound off.

“I rode up and down that roller coaster for 50 years, and now that we got a wonderful coach and players, I’m not going to stop now,” Dennis said.

Chiefs Kingdom in New England

Kelly Hill of Rockingham, Vermont, has been a Chiefs fan since she was just 12 years old, when she joined a friend in rooting for the “underdogs.” Now 38, Hill stays connected with the Kingdom through Facebook fan pages — but is seeing an uptick in new Chiefs fans in her area.

“I finally got to watch my Chiefs in Foxborough (Massachusetts) this season,” she told The Star. “I went solo and still had a blast, with a seat just six rows behind the Chiefs’ sideline!”

Hill shared a photo of herself sporting a Travis Kelce “yeti” hat and hoodie during warmups before the Chiefs took on the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. The Chiefs defeated the Patriots 27-17.

While Hill has never lived in the Kansas City area, she hopes to visit in the coming years and attend a game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Oklahoma, where the Chiefs come sweepin’ down the plain

Monday, our road trip team drove through western Kansas into Oklahoma. We talked to two Chiefs fans about how they found their way to Kingdom out here on the state’s panhandle — or in “No Man’s Land,” as one lifelong resident put it. We’ll share their stories tomorrow morning. For now, enjoy our group photo at the state sign.

Chiefs Kingdom: 9,000 miles away in Antarctica

Chief Petty Officer Jon-Erik Suermann of the U.S. Coast Guard is currently representing the Chiefs Kingdom while deployed in Antarctica aboard the USCGC Polar Star.

“I get the impression that my shipmates find my fandom kind of funny,” Suermann told The Star. “It makes sense that as a Chief, I am a fan of the Chiefs.”

Since becoming a Chiefs fan in 2016, the St. Louis native has brought his love for the Chiefs along to spots including Hawaii, Australia and Bahrain — although he says he hasn’t yet met any fellow fans during his current deployment, which started in November.

“My fellow chief petty officers don’t seem to mind the several Chiefs Red Friday flags and jerseys I have hanging up in the chiefs’ mess (hall),” he said.

The crew of the Polar Star is working on Operation Deep Freeze, a yearly effort by the Coast Guard to create shipping channels so supplies can reach Station McMurdo, an American research facility in Antarctica.

Suermann doesn’t know yet whether he’ll be able to live stream the big game: He wasn’t able to watch the playoffs due to the spotty internet connection across Antarctica’s mountainous terrain. But he added that if the ship is in range to pick up the American Forces Network on game day, it might just be possible.

Join the Red Kingdom Road Trip

We want to highlight how much fans across the country love the Chiefs, because we know how much they mean to Kansas City. So, help us find you along the way to the Super Bowl. Share your story here.

Keep following our trip here on KansasCity.com and on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Here’s where we’ll be stopping over the next several days:

• Guymon, Oklahoma, on Monday, Feb. 5
• Amarillo, Texas, on Monday, Feb. 5
• Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday, Feb. 6
• Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Wednesday, Feb. 7
• Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday, Feb. 8
• Sedona, Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 9
• Flagstaff, Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 9
• Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Feb. 9

This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 7:05 AM with the headline "We found a shrine to Chiefs Kingdom in a small Kansas town on our road trip to Vegas."