Travis Kelce spent nearly a month seeing a special request from an 8-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan every time he walked into his meeting room at training camp. He waited until the Chiefs were preparing to leave Missouri Western State University to finally answer it.
The Chiefs spend four weeks each summer using Missouri Western’s football facilities in St. Joseph, Missouri. Griffins assistant head coach Patrick St. Louis gives up his office and meeting room during that time, and this year, Kelce and the Chiefs’ tight ends used the space.
That gave St. Louis and his sons, Grey and Aiden, an idea. They left Kelce a jersey, photos and a handwritten request from Grey. For weeks, the family waited to find out whether Kelce had noticed.
Travis Kelce Sees 8-Year-Old Fan’s Note Every Day at Chiefs Camp
St. Louis grew up near Arrowhead Stadium and told KCTV5 that he has always been a Chiefs fan. His sons were equally excited about having their favorite NFL team spend the summer at their father’s workplace.
“It’s just crazy that my favorite NFL team in the world came to my dad’s college camp,” Grey said.
Once St. Louis discovered that the Chiefs tight ends would use his meeting room, he and his sons decided to leave something behind for Kelce.
“What if we left some stuff here … what if we put some stuff up and write a note and leave some pictures?” St. Louis recalled.
Grey kept his message simple.
“You’re my favorite tight end Kelce, please sign it,” he wrote.
St. Louis hung a Kelce jersey, two pictures of his sons and Grey’s note on the wall.
“I knew he had to sit here for a month every day and look at it,” St. Louis said.
Nothing happened immediately. A university facilities manager regularly checked the office, but Kelce hadn’t signed the items.
“Every day, they’re like, ‘Is it going to happen? Are we going to have his signature?'” St. Louis’ wife, Chastity St. Louis, said.
She tried to prepare the boys for the possibility that Kelce wouldn’t have time.
“Every day I had to just make sure that they were okay, so I’m like, ‘If he doesn’t sign it, it’s okay. We will try again next year,'” she said.
Kelce Waited Until the Chiefs’ Final Day to Deliver the Surprise
The family finally got its answer on the day the Chiefs broke camp.
St. Louis received a photo showing that Kelce had signed the jersey and the pictures of his sons before leaving Missouri Western.
“So they send me a picture of the jersey and the pics of the boys that we’d put up and he had signed it,” St. Louis said. “I was just shocked.”
Grey had a similar reaction.
“I was just shocked. I could barely talk and I was really happy,” he said.
Aiden said he wanted to scream, while their mother celebrated throughout her office.
“I went around my whole office: ‘He signed it! He signed it,'” Chastity said.
St. Louis said the small gesture showed his family another side of the Chiefs veteran.
“It just shows how humble he is,” St. Louis said. “Take the time to sign a few things and make a family’s day.”
The boys now plan to return the favor by sending Kelce friendship bracelets.
“Remember when Travis Kelce showed Taylor those friendship bracelets?” 10-year-old Aiden said. “We made them too.”
Travis Kelce Gives Kansas City Students Another Day to Remember
The St. Louis family wasn’t the only group of young Chiefs fans Kelce recently surprised.
Kelce invited students from Kansas City nonprofit Operation Breakthrough to watch the Chiefs’ first preseason game at Arrowhead Stadium from his suite, according to the organization’s X account. The students also got to see Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce, during the outing.
“Talk about a suite surprise!” Operation Breakthrough wrote. “Thanks to @tkelce, our students experienced the Chiefs’ first preseason game from his suite at Arrowhead! To make the day even more special, they even got to see @dkelce1! Thank you, Travis, for giving our kids a day they’ll never forget!”
Kelce has supported Operation Breakthrough for years through his Eighty-Seven & Running foundation, providing more than $1 million in support.
His work with the organization has included helping establish the Ignition Lab, which opened in 2021 and provides teenagers with hands-on opportunities in areas such as automotive repair, graphic design, cooking, entrepreneurship and STEM.
During a November 2024 appearance on the “Chiefs Kingdom Show” with Mitch Holthus, Kelce called Operation Breakthrough “one of the coolest places that I’ve ever seen or been a part of.”
“They literally have kids from preschool all the way to 8th grade, and they’re making sure these kids have meals, a safe haven; they get their education, they have good guidance and mentors,” Kelce said.
Travis Kelce Quietly Leaves 8-Year-Old Chiefs Fan ‘Shocked’ With Surprise Before Leaving Camp