For Chiefs Fans, Quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ Cereal is a Super Bowl Must-Have
With the Super Bowl just days away, American football fans and people who like watching commercials are in the midst of securing the snacks and supplies they’ll need for the big game. While chips, dips, and drinks are the cornerstones of a quality Super Bowl Spread, Chiefs fans in the Kansas City area will also be stocking up on a breakfast cereal that some have no intention of ever eating.
Why? Hy-Vee is re-upping on its supply of Mahomes Magic Crunch, a rare and coveted box of cereal dedicated to Chiefs quarterback and 2018 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes. The first two editions, released back in the fall, sold out almost instantaneously. With Super Bowl fever gripping the Kansas City area, the grocery chain tells KCUR they expect the latest restock of Mahomes Magic Crunch to be gone well before kickoff on Sunday.
Though we tend to think of athletes showing up in the cereal aisle via Wheaties boxes, this isn’t the first time a football star has launched a cereal of their own. That trend can be traced back to Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie and the 1998 release of Flutie Flakes. Years later, now-retired Patriots legend and party boy extraordinaire Rob Gronkowski released Gronk Flakes. Just as both of those cereals supported a charitable cause tied to the cover athlete, a portion of the proceeds from Mahomes Magic Crunch will go to the 15 and the Mahomies Foundation.
The Chiefs making their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years should provide a big boost for both Hy-Vee and Mahomes’ charity. The Des Moines-based grocery chain revised its sales expectation from an initial 50,000 boxes to a whopping 300,000 thanks to the latest batch. In turn, their projected donation to Mahomes’ non-profit has risen from $25,000 to an expected donation of $100,000.
Though Mahomes Magic Crunch is largely similar to Frosted Flakes (Patrick’s favorite childhood cereal), it sounds like some Chiefs fans who get their hands on a box won’t even think about eating this collector’s item. Some boxes, which retail for $3.99 at Hy-Vee, have fetched upwards of four times that amount if Amazon and eBay listings are to be believed.
With the Chiefs on the verge of winning their first Super Bowl in the lifetime of any fan under 50, some like Josh Weinstock are just a bit superstitious about the cereal. “I intend to keep [my box] sealed ‘til the day I die,” he told KCUR. “If my grandchildren wanna open it one day, they may be cursed.”
Whether the cereal is a good luck charm or just a good breakfast, there’s definite hope along the Kansas-Missouri border that some on-field magic from Mahomes will deliver a long-awaited championship. If that happens, you can bet that some lucky Chiefs fans will be celebrating with the sweetest bowl of cereal they’ve ever tasted.