The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

btubbs@tribunemedia.net

WHETHER you’re a fan or not, Bahamians will have some local flavour to pull for the Kansas City Chiefs during the National Football League’s 2020 Super Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday, February 2.

On Sunday, the Chiefs pulled off a 35-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans at home at the Arrowhead Stadium for the American Football Conference (AFC) championship crown and the right to play the San Francisco 49ers.

The 49ers clinched the National Football Conference (NFC) title with their 37-20 thrashing of the Green Bay Packers.

Included on Kansas City’s roster is rookie cornerback Rashad Fenton, the son of Bahamian Laurie Bethel Fenton. His father’s name is Rohan Fenton.

The Miami Carol City High School graduate who went on to excel in college for South Carolina was drafted by the Chiefs in the sixth round with the 201st overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

“It’s wonderful, to have a Bahamian descent playing in the Super Bowl this year. It’s just a blessing,” his proud mother said. “I’m excited to watch what happens in the game.”

A graduate of RM Bailey High School, Fenton went to Florida to attend St Thomas and Barry Universities and while there, she gave birth to Rashad. Although he never did any schooling here in the Bahamas, she said he still considers the Bahamas his home. She noted that the biggest experience for her and Rashad was on draft day. She said she didn’t realise how intense the process was just waiting to hear his name being called by one of the teams.

“Those three days, we went through all of it,” she recalled. “The anxiety of just wishing he would go here or there and just waiting to hear from one of the clubs, it was just mind boggling.

“It was unbelievable. It was a lot of pressure just sitting by the phone and waiting and waiting. The first day went by and nothing happened, the second came and gone and nothing happened. Low and behold, we got the call on the third day.”

For Fenton, it was a surreal moment for him and the Bahamian connection.

“I was raised by a single parent. My mom was born and raised in the Bahamas. She moved to Miami to attend school, but she always made sure that I kept in touch with my Bahamian side, including my aunty, my grandmother, my uncle, who all stay over there,” he said.

“It’s just a great opportunity knowing that your family is rooting for you with every achievement that you make. So to be playing in the Super Bowl, it’s definitely going to be super for real.”

He gave all the credit to God for enabling him to accomplish what he describes as an unbelievable year. “For me, I could never have written this story,” he stated. “It could only be the man above, who made some great things happen all in a year. So it’s just amazing to see what life can bring you at any given moment.”

After watching the Chiefs advance through the AFC West with a 12-4 win-loss record and clinch their berth into the AFL championship game with a 51-31 rout over the Houston Texans, Fenton said she felt pins and needles in the stands on Sunday. “It was freezing cold, but it was worth it all watching them win the title,” she said.

Her only wish for the Super Bowl is that the Chiefs “win” and bring the trophy back to Kansas City.

The Chiefs, coached by veteran Andy Reid, now in his seventh year, and led by third-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, also include South Carolina’s defensive back Chris Lammons, who was recently traded from the Miami Dolphins. “I hope they win,” said Fenton, who will be coming home this weekend before she heads to Miami with some of her family members to prepare for the much-anticipated showdown.

For those Bahamians who are deciding to stick with the 49ers, Fenton gave them this advice:

“I can’t blame them for going with the 49ers,” he said. “But you have a Bahamian playing for the Chiefs and have a lot of things going on, so you might as well join us. It’s only right. Hopefully, people will see how dedicated we are and they will change their minds when we win the title.”

Fenton, 22, stands at 5-feet, 11-inches and weighs 188-pounds. He wears number 27. In the divisional playoffs against the Texans, Fenton recorded a sack on wide receiver Kenny Stills.

“It’s just crazy growing up in the city where I had to drive past the stadium every day when I had to go to school and to go shopping,” he said. “It’s just crazy to see how life can be turned around in a 360 degree in a different podium and in a different lifestyle. “It’s just amazing. It’s just amazing. I am just amazed to see what is happening.”

After watching the Chiefs make it to the AFC championship game last year, Fenton said he knew he was stepping into a programme that had the ability to contend for the Super Bowl this year.

“They fell short last year, but this year we planned to achieve more than the AFC championship and that was to get to the Super Bowl,” he said. “You think about it, but just never know if you will end up there. We’re just happy to be here.”

Over the next few days, Fenton said they intend to continue to practice before they head to Miami on Sunday. Then he said the Chiefs will be locked in and focused on the task at hand, winning their Super Bowl title.

This is the second appearance in the NFL’s biggest game for Kansas City, who were in it in 1967, only to lose 35-10 to the Green Bay Packers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.