Chiefs coach Andy Reid remembers late son after first Super Bowl victory

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

As time ran out at Super Bowl LIV and the confetti began to swirl at Hard Rock Stadium, Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid battled several emotions.

Reid's 222nd career victory was also his first Super Bowl win, as the Chiefs rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.

His professional achievement was satisfying, but Reid was also thinking about his late son, Garrett Reid, who died of a heroin overdose in August 2012, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. He was 29.

“You can’t help but think of him,” Reid told reporters after Sunday’s game. “Absolutely.”

Reid, his wife, four surviving children and spouses, and grandson gathered together at Hard Rock Stadium's confetti-covered field for a family hug, the Inquirer reported.

“It was a moment with our family where we all got to cry and really feel my brother looking down on us,” Crosby Reid told the newspaper. “Garrett’s spirit was there. It was a huge family moment seeing my Dad’s dream finally come true.”

Tammy Reid said she wore a sapphire encrusted ring Sunday her children had given her in honor of Garrett, the Inquirer reported.

“The fact that we were all here, that was amazing,” Tammy Reid told the newspaper. “Except for ‘G.’ So sad, but I know he’s watching us.”

Andy Reid said he kept his emotions in check.

“I’m all right there. I think of the good things,” the coach said. “I try to. Always the good things.”

The Reid family wanted to win the Super Bowl as a tribute to Garrett Reid, the Inquirer reported, They got their wish.

“I felt his spirit there,” Crosby Reid told the newspaper. “I knew he was there looking down and he was a part of the celebration with us.”

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