Sunday’s Chiefs game is a dream come true for the Kingdom’s most vocal fan in Germany

Marius Wimmler in Front of his Chiefs Memorabilia. // Courtesy of Marius Wimmler

The Show Me Plate

Memorabilia from favorite sports teams is something that all diehard fans cherish. To the extent that fans will even deck out entire rooms dedicated strictly to the love of their team or club.

Looking into German native Marius Wimmler’s wall of collectibles, it is easy to tell that he is a Kansas City Chiefs fan. Keepsakes from flags, swag, and footballs all tell a story in his shrine. But there is one thing that stands out, different from the rest: His 1980’s Missouri license plate.

The faded red plate sits among the remaining Chiefs memorabilia, somewhat as an eye-sore in comparison to the glamor and shine that his other items hold. Nonetheless, this vintage show me state plate holds a special place in Wimmler’s heart that he attributes as where his love for the Kansas City Chiefs arose.

In the early 2000’s, when he was just 15 years old, Wimmler was given the Missouri license plate: A bit of a random offering considering he resides in Germany with no specific connection to the Midwest state.

At the time, the plate was merely a present for Wimmler. Now it holds significant value in how his life has shaped up.

After learning about the United States’ sports culture through magazine publications as a child, Wimmler took interest in American football. His reason being that he enjoyed how cool our footballers looked in their appealing jerseys and stiff pads. 

With his interest in American football spiking as he came of age, and now receiving a license plate from some random U.S. state, he did some research on where his gift originated from and found out about the local team: The Chiefs.

At the time, Wimmler had an interest in learning about Native American culture, drawing him to gain an even closer connection with the team’s name and logo. 

“The Chiefs logo really caught my eye and that combination with the license plate was my first emotional connection I can trace,” Wimmler says. “Then of course, I tried to find out more about the Chiefs, which was very difficult because there wasn’t much NFL shown on TV in Germany. And if that was the case, the Chiefs didn’t play a big role in those days.”

But a name and logo can only get you so far in terms of cultivating fans. The main driver for any fandom to form is through a team’s success.

Although the Chiefs did not have much success throughout the entirety of the 2000’s up into the mid-2010’s, certain players did. Looking back during those years, a few big names illuminated Wimmler’s curiosity and nailed down his love for the team: Tony Gonzalez and Jamaal Charles.

“I think the biggest emotional connection, the reason why I became a Chiefs fan was the drafting of Jamaal Charles and the way he played. He is still today one of, I think, my most favorite Chiefs player of all time. And fun fact we share the exact same date of birth,” he says.

Marius Wimmler and Dante Hall in Chiefs Visit to Germany. // Courtesy of Marius Wimmler

Pigskin Podcast

Spiraling forward 20 years later, Wimmler now is one of the leading voices for American football in Germany. Daniel Jensen, Fabian Nießl, and himself are the three members of the Das Kingdom Podcast: A podcast dedicated to spreading news and opinions regarding the Chiefs to their fans on the other side of the pond.

Communicated completely in German, their podcast serves as an outlet for local Germans to become informed on the NFL as a whole, a subject that has been historically surrounded by barriers.

“Because there has been no real German Chiefs podcast and generally far too little information about the Chiefs in German, we wanted to change that,” Wimmler says. “We wanted to give every growing German fan base the opportunity to grow even closer emotionally to the team.”

The wheels for their podcast began turning through social media when Wimmler had linked with Jensen through his Instagram account, arrowhead86, a platform that he had created to connect with Chiefs fans throughout the world. 

At the time, the podcast was simply Jensen’s Chief’s news avenue. But this quickly changed when Wimmler joined permanently after being the third guest on the show, and likewise with Nießl, joining for good at the beginning of the 2022 NFL playoffs. 

“I think we are kind of ambassadors for the Chiefs and football in Germany, not officially, but because there’s definitely differences when you hear about your favorite team from someone in your native language or from the far-away experts in the U.S,” Wimmler says.

With his main occupation revolving around being a social media monitor and reporter, the transition into podcasting as a hobby was a perfect segway for Wimmler. 

On top of using his voice as a platform to spread NFL knowledge, he works full-time as a social media guru with Bundesliga Club VfB Stuttgart, as well as with Coca-Cola Germany, Universal Music Group, and other production companies.

While he enjoys the traditional soccer that his native land has to offer, his main passion continues to revolve around the NFL and the Chiefs.

“We are on it when people write us and say they’ve become an even bigger Chiefs fan thanks to our podcast. And we get these messages every day,” he says. “And that’s exactly why we do this, why we stay up all night and do a lot of research for the games.”

Marius Wimmler and KC Wolf in Germany. // Courtesy of Marius Wimmler

Homecoming on the Horizon

Although Wimmler has been a fan of the Chiefs since he was a teenager, he has never had the opportunity to watch a game in person. This can be credited to his long-lasting fear of flights: Something that he thought that he would certainly have to overcome to ever have a chance at seeing the team take the field with his own eyes.

Well, he did overcome his fear, but just at the wrong time. After facing flights head-on, Wimmler was set and ready to attend a Chiefs game during the 2020 season. This was ultimately halted due to COVID, creating yet another setback for him to bear witness to the team’s complex winning style.

Despite the fact that he has never been able to watch the team in the flesh, his fandom holds no bounds, having watched every Chiefs game since 2018. This means that he must stay up until 1:30 a.m. just for primetime kickoffs, which are plentiful for the Chiefs. With an average of about three hours for NFL games, Wimmler finds himself up around 5:00 a.m. in order to watch the conclusion of his football fix. 

“Since 2018, I’ve never missed a live game of the Chiefs. It’s still hard to get up and sometimes it’s really tricky making plans for the weekend or Mondays. I’m really happy that I can make a home office on Mondays most of the time, and if not there’s a lot of coffee needed,” he says.

Finally, after countless years of being on standby, Wimmler will have the chance to watch Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs take the field this Sunday in his hometown, Frankfurt, against the Miami Dolphins.

“I was born in Frankfurt so it’s like a homecoming again on Sunday,” he says.

Not only will Wimmler be in attendance at the game, but he and other German Chiefs fans will be partaking in numerous events as the week leads up to the highly anticipated international match.

The commemorations include everything from events where fans have the opportunity to view the Lombardi Trophy, live discussions at a local bookstore with fans, a party between Chiefs fans and Frankfurt Galaxy fans – the city’s American football team, taste testing traditional KC BBQ, and even a Travis and Taylor themed party as well. Yes, the hype around Swift and Kelce has made its way to Germany.

“Since Taylor and Travis are in a relationship, more young women and girls are becoming aware of the Chiefs and American football of course, which I think is quite funny,” he says. “This is how people come into contact with football and the Chiefs who previously had absolutely no idea about it, and I like stories like that.”

After the fun and games take place throughout the week, Wimmler and his German counterparts will be ready for Sunday’s action. And there is nothing that screams European sports more than a good ole march to the stadium, a soccer tradition, which will also take place prior to the game.

“I couldn’t ask for a better first Chiefs game because the Chiefs are coming to my hometown. And the circle is fulfilled and I think it’s an even better story,” he says.

Marius Wimmler in Front of Deutsche Bank Park. // Courtesy of Marius Wimmler

Future of International Football

It is safe to say that Wimmler is more than excited for Sunday to approach, but his opinions on international football may shock some. 

Wimmler believes that some of the circulation revolving around a Super Bowl in Europe and the formation of a European division would diminish some of the traditional values that the NFL holds.

“For me, it doesn’t have to be the sky’s the limit. I don’t want to see a Super Bowl outside of the United States because that just wouldn’t be fair,” he says. “It would be wrong for all the fans in different cities in the U.S. and all the season ticket members supporting their team all year long.”

“I would be happy if there are two or three NFL games a year in Germany, the Chiefs come here for a game every two years or something like that.”

He wants to see the NFL European League make a return, to continue the growth of the sport internationally. He also believes that the European league could be a great opportunity for later-round draft picks and undrafted free agents to play in the league, making for a smoother transition to true NFL football. 

“It was very fascinating because when the NFL gave up the European league, I think in 2007, and invested in the international games, outside of Germany, the growth stopped and the perception faded into the background, which is I think a real shame in my opinion because the potential was always there but not the structures.”

The reinstatement of the league could serve as a gateway for international youth to be exposed to a sport outside of their status quo. 

“I think soccer will always be the main popular sport in Germany, but American football already achieves the second-best TV ratings of all sports here.”

As the week carries on, Wimmler will continue to prepare for Sunday’s big game with his football festivities. One being the opportunity to take part in the team’s press conference.

“We will take part in the press conference and probably ask Patrick Mahomes a question. This is one of the biggest dreams come true for me, personally. And I already got my question ready so I’m really looking forward to that,” he says.

Come Sunday, Wimmler will be roaring the KC boys on at Deutsche Bank Park alongside thousands of other international Chiefs fans.

“I think the red sea will be dominating. We will try our best and when the National Anthem of The United States will play, it will be the home of the Chiefs for sure,” he says. “We have to make it home for them in every possible way.”