Chiefs’ culture is Super loose

MIAMI >> If you’re planning to walk through the middle of the Kansas City Chiefs locker room between lunch and their usual afternoon practice, you might want to grab someone’s shoulder pads and helmet and brace for impact.

There’s a good chance you’ll find yourself in the middle of a pickup basketball game involving 300-pound linemen.

It’s a scene that plays out daily during the regular season, big bodies banging into each other as defensive tackles Chris Jones and Khalen Saunders try to post up under the hoop — hung just over the doorway leading into the showers. Usually, teammates will gather around them, playing the dual role of vocal fans and even more vocal referees.

“When you check in, it’s nonstop competition,” Chiefs tight end Travis

Kelce explained this week. “Guys are always trying to play some type of game or compete in some type of way to get the upper hand on somebody else.”

The pickup games illustrate a few points about the Chiefs team preparing to play in its first Super Bowl in 50 years:

They have a fierce competitive streak that permeates the entire roster, whether it’s on the field or off.

They genuinely like being around each other, even when they could leave during the lunch hour; and perhaps most of all, they have a loosey-goosey nature despite the pressurecooker business and highstakes nature of professional football.

That last point could serve them well as they deal with a week of media engagements, countless parties and distractions, and ultimately the strain that comes with prepping for their big game against the 49ers on Feb. 2.