Hype sure to follow, but Chiefs and 49ers fairly low key in arrivals in Miami for Super Bowl week

A pilot holds a San Francisco 49ers flag as the NFC champions arrive at Miami International Airport on Sunday, a week before they take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. / AP photo by David J. Phillip
A pilot holds a San Francisco 49ers flag as the NFC champions arrive at Miami International Airport on Sunday, a week before they take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. / AP photo by David J. Phillip

MIAMI - Kansas City waited 50 years to get back to the Super Bowl - and then the Chiefs had to wait a few extra minutes once they got to Miami.

It took workers at Miami International Airport about three attempts to get one of the rolling staircases that the Chiefs would use to deplane properly lined up with the front door of their chartered jet. The delay was brief, and coach Andy Reid and the rest of the Kansas City delegation then made their way into the hangar for the short walk to waiting buses.

A handful of local politicians and officials were at the airport to greet the AFC champion Chiefs (14-4) and the NFC-winning San Francisco 49ers (15-3) as loud hip-hop music blared through the maintenance hangar that was being used for the arrivals Sunday.

No players or coaches spoke to reporters inside the hangar. The first media session for the Chiefs and the 49ers - who arrived a couple hours after the Chiefs did - is Monday, when the NFL has Super Bowl Opening Night at Marlins Park.

Super Bowl LIV is next Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Fox will televise the 6:30 p.m. game.

photo Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, right, and his teammates arrive Sunday at Miami International Airport. The Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday in Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. / AP photo by David J. Phillip

Even as football enters its biggest week, basketball was on the teams' minds. Both franchises paid tribute Sunday on social media to Kobe Bryant, whose shocking death in a helicopter crash earlier Sunday in Southern California reverberated around the world.

"A legend gone too soon," the 49ers wrote.

Added Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark via Twitter: "I'm devastated, RIP to my idol, Bean, 8, 24, the Goat, the Black Mamba. Wow." Chiefs cornerback Bashaud Breeland called it a "sad day in America."

A handful of volunteers greeted players, coaches and staff as they made their way down the stairs. Everyone was handed a floral baseball cap, and many players held their phones out to shoot video of the moment they arrived.

Once they deplaned, a few of the 49ers danced in time with the music coming from a nearby DJ. Even the flight attendants on the Chiefs' plane were celebrating the moment- they gathered at the top of the stairs for a group photo once their passengers were off, and then a few of them pulled out their phones for some pictures of players as well.

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