When it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs, WSU Senior Communicator Paul Sullentrop has seen it all.

Growing up, Sullentrop was a Chiefs fan. Since he was into sports and since the Chiefs were the closest team, it only made sense.

As his life evolved, Sullentrop found another passion — journalism. Life then came full circle when he became a reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press in Missouri, where he ended up covering the Chiefs on the weekends.

“It wasn’t a day-to-day thing, but there were a couple of seasons that they were a really big deal,” Sullentrop said. “We would go down [to Kansas City]. We went to some road games, but we covered all the home games.”

By being around the team and witnessing the hardships that they have been through over the years, Sullentrop understands what it means to Chiefs fans that they are back in the Super Bowl on Sunday — even if he isn’t as big of a fan as he once was.

“I mean, it’s been such a painful thing for fans and the organization,” Sullentrop said. “From a fan perspective, I kind of compared it to the Royals. They went through that drought but they were just always bad. The Chiefs, however — they were often good enough. You thought that it could happen, and then it never did.

“They always came up with ridiculously painful ways to lose.”

But it’s not the pain of a fanbase that helped Sullentrop come into his own. It was the experience he gained from covering the team that helped him grow personally. He credits his time inside the team’s locker room, watching the other professional journalists, to helping him understand how to go about business in the journalism field.

“From a professional standpoint, it was probably most helpful just observing other people who were really there and doing a great job,” Sullentrop said. “You really get a sense of how they go about their business, how they establish relationships, and how they ask questions. I think early in my career, I was just like, ‘Wow, I’m in the Chiefs’ pressbox,’ but then you realize people are actually there working.

“You need to figure that out, and that was helpful.”

Sullentrop ended up covering the team with two different publications, the News-Press and The Wichita Eagle.

As for the game on Sunday, Sullentrop will be watching. After following the team for so many years — professionally or not — he’s still a fan, just not as engaged. He’s happy his kids, the two who live in Kansas City, are able to experience the city during one of its highs.

He said that if he was still 28, then yes, he would be mad about the Chiefs losing in the big game.

“I’m not as emotionally attached. I may not be devastated, but at least they’re there,” Sullentrop said. “It’ll be interesting to see people’s reactions, and how it [a loss] could happen. Certainly, that potential is there for another painful, disappointing outcome.”

Sullentrop has been inside the Chiefs’ locker room after disappointing losses. He says it’s not the best place to be.

“A couple of playoff losses, you just walk into the locker room and it’s dead quiet,” Sullentrop said. “You can just feel the devastation of how it slipped through their fingers. You remember things like that.”

Through the years, Sullentrop has also collected some memorabilia, including T-shirts, press passes, team schedules, autographs, and playing cards. That’s what it’s like being a sports fan.

“Being someone who likes sports, I was just always picking things up and collecting stuff,” he said. “I wouldn’t call it a serious collection, but I have saved too much junk.”

The Chiefs play in Super Bowl LIV on Sunday in Miami, Florida. The game is set to kickoff at 5:30 p.m.