Jessica Tangen, superfan of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, dies at training camp

Jessica Tangen, a superfan of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, passed away last Sunday morning during the team’s training camp practice.

Tangen, a resident of Riverside in Platte County, was in attendance during the team’s session at the Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.

Mosaic Life Care, the Chiefs’ presenter during their training camp, said in a statement:

“We are devastated to share that one of the Kansas City Chiefs' beloved fans, Jessica Tangen of Riverside, Mo., passed away Sunday morning during practice at Chiefs Training Camp.

“Jessica’s family shared that she was a lifelong Chiefs fan and loved cheering for the team. Please join us in lifting up the grieving family with your thoughts and prayers.”

MLFootball also tweeted about Tangen’s passing.

Mosaic said their caregivers attended to Tangen’s medical needs during training camp. They were assisted by the Missouri Western staff and Buchanan County Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

An ambulance was parked at the foot of the hill near the Mosaic Training Fields, where Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs were practicing.

The Chiefs are having their 13th training camp at Missouri Western. Practices are open to the public unless specified otherwise. However, tickets must be reserved in advance to regulate the crowd’s size. Season ticket holders had the privilege to book their tickets first.

Fans can reserve up to six tickets per practice and attend up to three training camp practices. Tickets can be accessed through the Chiefs mobile app.

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Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are all business

While the thoughts and prayers of Chiefs Nation are with Tangen’s family, they must deal with the monumental task at hand.

No team has won back-to-back Super Bowls since Tom Brady and the New England Patriots did it in 2004 and 2005.

But the Chiefs have the personnel to break that spell. Patrick Mahomes won his second NFL Associated Press Most Valuable Player Award last season after getting 48 out of 50 first-place votes. He also won his second Super Bowl MVP honors after defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

Helping him in their quest to defend the crown is Travis Kelce, who had his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season last year. He led all tight ends with 1,338 yards and 12 touchdowns.

However, Kelce had an incident at training camp when he threw punches at linebacker Jack Cochrane. He has apologized for his actions since.

The Chiefs added another target for Patrick Mahomes in Richie James, reuniting him with Kadarius Toney. They also selected Rashee Rice in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, Chris Jones will lead a defensive unit featuring George Karlaftis, Derrick Nnadi, Willie Gay, Nick Bolton, Trent McDuffie, L’Jarius Sneed, and rookie Felix Anudike-Uzomah.