Eric Stonestreet’s post-Super Bowl message to fellow Kansas City Chiefs fans is a sentimental reminder about what sports adds to their lives.
“Not the outcome anyone who calls themself a KC fan wanted, but football did again what football does, create long lasting meaningful moments in your life,” the former “Modern Family” star and lifelong Chiefs fan wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
He went on to detail some of those moments from being at the Super Bowl, where he was one of many celebrities including his Big Slick fundraiser co-host Paul Rudd.
Stonestreet wrote of sharing a cab from the airport with “complete strangers” and dancing with the 610 Stompers, an all-male dance group in New Orleans.
He dined at a legendary New Orleans restaurant — Dooky Chase’s — “with two incredible families, the Chase family and the Veach family.” (Photos show him hanging out with Chiefs general manager Brett Veach.)
“But the coolest and most powerful memory for me will be sharing space with @teamgleason and his family and friends,” Stonestreet wrote. “You never know where and when you’ll meet a new friend and man am I happy to have a new pal in Steve. He’s beyond an inspiration.”
Former NFL player Steve Gleason played for the New Orleans Saints from 2000 to 2008, famously blocking a punt in the first game played in the Louisiana Superdome after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Gleason was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2011 when he was 34. Since then he has become a prominent advocate for the ALS community.
His nonprofit, Team Gleason, has provided more than $50 million worth of care services, equipment, technology and other necessary sources to ALS patients and their families.
Emmy-winner Stonestreet, who grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, is as passionate as the next person in Chiefs Kingdom. Last month he went off on ESPN’s Adam Schefter for implying that NFL officials help Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“He’s got the biggest reach in all the NFL and here he is out implying and furthering this conspiracy that the league is rigging the game against us,” Stonestreet said in an interview with NFL Network.
“But I’m reminded what’s great about being a fan and what’s great about sports in general. It allows us to connect over the love for team and make new friends while furthering the bond we have with old ones,” he wrote. “And being with the great Lindsay (his fiance) the whole time is just the cherry on top for me.
“Lastly to fellow fans. My 2 cents. We didn’t strap up and bleed and sweat for years working to get to these big moments. (At least I didn’t.) “So, let’s not be more sad or more boastful than the ACTUAL people who play the game, coach the game, and put it all on the line. Til next season football fans, and as always, GO CHIEFS.”