Chiefs Super Bowl Victory Parade for USATSI

Two words: Corn Dog.

Congrats on a second Super Bowl victory, Kansas City Chiefs. Keep winning so I can keep photographing these super fun parades, please.

Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LIV Victory Parade

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted a victory parade through downtown Kansas City, Missouri (*ahem*) after winning their first Super Bowl in 50 YEARS on Sunday in Miami. It was freezing outside, but the day started off with a bang — no really. There was a high-speed police car chase on the parade route at 8:00 a.m. Despite the cold, it was great to see the players and associated staff celebrating an incredible season. Here are a few of my favorite images from the day, taken from the media platform at Grand Boulevard and 20th Street.

Chiefs Rookie Club at CCVI

Today the Kansas City Chiefs Rookie Club visited the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI). This school/organization is amazing and I have been privileged to work for them several times over the last year. What they do for children with disabilities is incredible. It's hard to leave one of their events without either a huge smile or a few tears. Today was no different, as the new Chiefs players (along with KC Wolf and a couple Chiefs cheerleaders) came to decorate cookies, sing Christmas songs, and give gifts to the kids.

Bobby Bell for NYT

My late grandfather, Leonard Yanigan – after whom I was named (hence my middle name Len) – was born in 1916 in Staten Island, NY. He was a paper boy for The New York Times while growing up and later in life, carried that passion for journalism to Texas where he studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. Poppa, as we affectionately called him, was my role model growing up. His intelligence and huge heart are something I strive to replicate in my personal and professional life. When I got a phone call earlier this week from an editor at NYT to photograph a freelance assignment for them, I nearly jumped out of my skin. He had been weighing on my heart heavily due to the Christmas season, and this felt like a Christmas present straight from him, as cheesy as that sounds.

It was a fun, stress-free assignment, as I drove out to east Kansas City to photograph former Chiefs player and NFL Hall-of-Famer, Bobby Bell. He's another inspirational man, who, after 52 years, went back and completed the necessary coursework to graduate from the University of Minnesota, having left school early for the NFL draft in 1963. In May, he will walk across the stage in Minneapolis and get his diploma.

Here are a couple photos I made of him and his wonderful wife, Pam.