After the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday evening, John Elway — yes, John Elway — delivered the Super Bowl trophy to the Chiefs.
Elway, of course, played for the Denver Broncos from 1983-1998, reaching five Super Bowls and winning two titles before retiring in 1999. Elway went 17-12 against the Chiefs in his career, but the Broncos have struggled against their division rival in more recent seasons.
Last fall, new head coach Sean Payton helped Denver snap a 16-game losing streak to Kansas City that dated back to 2015. The Chiefs have been a thorn in the Broncos’ side for years, and they just won their third Super Bowl in a five-year span.
So it’s no surprise that fans in Denver were shocked (and annoyed) to see Elway hand KC the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday. Here’s a sampling of how fans and pundits reacted on Twitter/X.
John Elway being on stage with the Chiefs is quite strange.
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) February 12, 2024
Elway presenting the Lombardi to the Chiefs in the Raiders stadium.
I took too much cough medicine?
— Bri 🦇 (@BriMaestas303) February 12, 2024
Nasty work by the nfl making John elway walk through a sea of chiefs with that trophy 😂 pic.twitter.com/BKWsjGBFA9
— Joe Seppi (@_JoeSeppi) February 12, 2024
having John Elway pass the Lombardi Trophy to his AFC West Rival KC Chiefs is nuts 🤣🤣
— 73-9 and THEY LIED (@CuffsTheLegend) February 12, 2024
If I were John Elway and they asked me to hand the Vince Lombardi Trophy over to a hated rival, I would have said “Neigh.”
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) February 12, 2024
lol John Elway gotta be so pissed he has to give this to the Chiefs of all teams
— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) February 12, 2024
Why would they have John Elway delivering the trophy to the team that's in his division. They couldn't find one former Kansas City Chief to do it… 🤷🏾♂️🤦🏾
— Reggie Wayne (@ReggieWayne_17) February 12, 2024
Love how Elway is up there on stage for a … Chiefs Super Bowl
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) February 12, 2024
Chiefs have John Elway on stage with them after winning the SB in the Raiders house.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) February 12, 2024
The Chiefs getting the Super Bowl trophy from John Elway inside the Raiders stadium is peak cinema.
— Sam Danes (@SamDanes26) February 12, 2024
Elway carrying the Lombardi for the Chiefs is the most down bad Broncos Country has ever been…
— Kalle📸 (@KalleSorbo) February 12, 2024
John Elway — forever the face of the @broncos —having to hand the Lombardi trophy to the Chiefs is something out of a medieval torture chamber.
Why you do me like that NFL?— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) February 12, 2024
John Elway carrying the Lombardi Trophy to the Chiefs is so painful. pic.twitter.com/xDKTkRGGk3
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) February 12, 2024
John Elway handing the Chiefs a Super Bowl Trophy is a war crime.
— ThatsGoodSports (@BrandonPerna) February 12, 2024
John Elway carried the Lombardi Trophy to the podium for the Super Bowl trophy presentation.
Ouch. pic.twitter.com/Xcqw4C1RJh
— Henry Chisholm (@HenryChisholm) February 12, 2024
I really hope elway put some of his bad luck stuff in that Lombardi trophy before he handed it over…
— Kar (@oohDB4lalaL) February 12, 2024
John Elway walks up to the podium with the Vince Lombardi Trophy through a phalanx of Chiefs players who touch the trophy as he passes by.
Elway, part of the relay of the Lombardi that moves the Chiefs past the Broncos with 4 all-time Super Bowl titles.
That'll sting, I think.
— Andrew Mason (@MaseDenver) February 12, 2024
The last time John Elway touched a Lombardi, he cursed his team for 7 years.
Maybe he’s on to something.
— Big Mike || Greg Dulcich’s #1 Fan (@DulcichMuse) February 12, 2024
It should be noted that Elway likely agreed to present the trophy weeks or even months ahead of the game, probably before he knew who was going to play in the Super Bowl. And even if Elway did know, consider how cool it would have been for Elway to hand the trophy over to one of the sons of Mike Shanahan or Ed McCaffrey, who both one two titles with Elway. Alas, it ended up being another Chiefs victory, much to Elway’s chagrin.
