Chiefs fan from Turkey is returning to Arrowhead for Christmas Day game versus Raiders

Not much good came out of the COVID-19 lockdown, but Chiefs Kingdom did grow a little larger as a result.

And it happened in an unlikely place: Turkey.

Musa Türkmen became a Chiefs fan after connecting with supporters in Kansas City through the viral “Quarantined Beer Chugs” Facebook group that started when bars and pubs closed. Those virtual cocktail hours drew people from around the globe.

“He didn’t speak very much English at all, like at all,” Türkmen’s friend Catherine Baskett-Cook said in a phone interview. “So it was just a lot of cheering and saying go Chiefs and so it came about literally from that. It’s how he became a Chiefs fan. It’s crazy.”

Türkmen, who is from Ankara, Turkey, had asked Baskett-Cook to help him write a post in English.

“I typed out what he was wanting to say in better English,” Baskett-Cook said, “and then I jokingly said, ‘Hey, at the end of this, anything you post always say, Go Chiefs.’ And so when he posted that, and he did it with the Go Chiefs, that’s when everybody was like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s a Chiefs fan,’ and he just skyrocketed at that point.”

It’s taken off to the point that Türkmen will be back at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday for the Chiefs’ game against the Raiders. It’s his second trip to Kansas City to see the Chiefs play.

But he watches the Chiefs weekly in Turkey. Like a faithful mail carrier during the holiday season, Türkmen rises early at his home.

“Now every time I wake up in the morning at 5 o’clock or 3 o’clock or 2 o’clock to watch the Chiefs games,” Türkmen said in a phone interview. “So I’m a Chiefs fan.”

After games, Türkmen will share photos and messages on social media about the Chiefs and some have gotten reactions from hundreds of people. Most are from his friends in Kansas City.

His house in Turkey is full of Chiefs memorabilia, too. While Türkmen noted that Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce are not having their best seasons, that hasn’t swayed his faith in the team.

“Whether the Chiefs win or the Chiefs don’t win,” he said, “I’m still a fan.

“Sometimes I watch with my jersey and people ask me where did you get the jersey. I say to them, I bought it in the United States. I’ve seen some people in shopping, bar or market and they say they are Chiefs fans too, but they don’t have a jersey.”

That’s because Türkmen is a die-hard Chiefs fan, and he’s never afraid to show it.