With the Kansas City Chiefs’ stunning Super Bowl LIX loss to the Philadelphia Eagles still weighing heavy on fans’ hearts, Hallmark star and newly-minted Chiefs fan Tyler Hynes provided them with some much-needed comfort and camaraderie. On February 11, 2025, the star of 2024’s “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” offered to meet up with fans who simply needed a hug.
The day before, still singing from the loss he witnessed in New Orleans, Hynes wrote in his Instagram Stories, “Thinkin about giving hugs to chiefs fans in KC…I know I need one…”
He tossed out possible places to meet, but on the morning of February 11, he wrote in an Instagram post that the impromptu hugfest would take place at the Wild About Harry gift shop in Independence Missouri, where much of “Holiday Touchdown” was filmed, from 4 to 6 p.m. Central time.
Hynes wrote, “With the results of sundays game it’s only right to bring it back to where we filmed a lovely lil holiday movie that celebrated a city and team that deserves all of the love and admiration of an organization that’s given us an unprecedented year with more to come.”
Fans Lined Up in Cold Temperatures for Hug From Tyler Hynes
In photos Hynes shared in his Instagram Stories during the Super Bowl, he revealed that he was sitting in the end zone next to Hallmark director and friend Ryan M. Murphy. Dressed in a Chiefs jersey imprinted with his last name on the back, Hynes included a photo of himself post-game, covering half of his face in his shirt as the Eagles celebrated on the field behind him.
Despite the loss, Hynes’ love of the team and their fans remains, he assured them in his February 11 post, writing, “The team like this city has a spirit and sincerity unlike anywhere I’ve ever been and for me personally, high or low, win or lose, it’s all just as beautiful cause the folks you share it with.”
“I had the privilege of sharing in Sunday’s game with that group of people,” he continued, “and I wish to celebrate them with those who love them just as much as I do but couldn’t be there in New Orleans.”
Kansas City media and businesses in Independence jumped on the news of Hynes’ visit. According to social media posts from fans, people were lined up before 4 p.m. to get a hug from the big-hearted Hallmark hunk despite the temperature hovering around 24 degrees, per the Weather Channel.
One fan commented on his post, “A few fans? All of Independence, Missouri will be there, I am sure. Trust me, if I wasn’t in Houston, I would come give you a hug. Lol. 😍”
On Facebook, Wild About Harry’s shared, “He’s here to show some love and support after our Chiefs’ tough loss, and he’s ready to meet you—free entry! Don’t miss your chance to say hey, snap a pic, and soak up some championship-level energy (even if we didn’t get the win).”
Tyler Hynes & Hunter King Now Consider Themselves Chiefs Fans
The making of “Holiday Touchdown” turned both Hynes and King into bigtime Chiefs fans. Before filming the movie, Hynes admitted he knew little about football. But after spending the summer of 2024 filming at Arrowhead Stadium surrounded by team executives, players and fans, the Canadian-born actor got swept up in Chiefs fever.
As the season kicked off in September, he attended his first game and posted on Instagram, “First tailgate. First game. First ‘Fan Of The Year’ surprise. This Canadian is falling for football ❤️🔥”
King was swayed to become a Chiefs fan, too, telling TV Insider in November, “I do love football. I don’t have a specific team, although now I feel like I’m becoming a Chiefs fan. How could you not right now, especially?! But I do love football. I grew up loving football. I grew up wanting to be a quarterback for some reason, and I was a Peyton Manning fan. A diehard Peyton Manning fan.”
Two weeks later, she was all-in, telling Collider, “We got to film at Arrowhead Stadium and work so closely with the Chiefs. As an organization, they’re incredible. They’re so much like Hallmark. Their values and what they stand for, it’s hard not to be a fan of the Chiefs and everything that they represent. So I think I would call myself a Chiefs fan.”
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Free Hugs: Tyler Hynes Heads to Kansas City for Impromptu Hugfest With Chiefs Fans