MIAMI — Patrick Mahomes has come a long way since his days in Whitehouse, Texas, a town around 8,000 people in the northeast part of the state.
Mahomes, now an NFL MVP quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs has a strong fan base in his hometown with Chiefs logos on signs and flags in front of homes and Dairy Queens.
Mahomes' high school football coach at Whitehouse, Adam Cook, was determined to watch his former quarterback's first Super Bowl appearance in person in Miami.
"The first question I had for him was, 'hey, if you got one of those coupon codes I can type in, because these tickets are crazy expensive," Cook told us over Skype.
That's when Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury stepped in.
"It was kind of surreal, one of those deals where I had to say, 'is this really happening right now?'" Cook said.
Kingsbury and Cook's relationship, of course, goes back to Mahomes' high school days when Kingsbury was recruiting the quarterback to play for him at Texas Tech.
"He texted me and said, 'hey coach, I can't think of anyone more deserving of going,' and I was just overwhelmed," Cook said.
Cook sent Kingsbury's father, also a long-time Texas high school football coach, a letter and posted it on Twitter, thanking him for raising such a great son.
Cook got to enjoy all the sights and sounds of Super Bowl week in Miami, but he also brought the town of Whitehouse, Texas with him, in spirit.
"I get to go, but I have had so many people call me and tell me they're so glad. To them, it's like they're getting to go," Cook said. "It's amazing to me how many people are happy for me, not jealous, they're calling me elated, they're excited we're getting this opportunity."
Cook told us he's never really been a fan of a certain NFL team. He chooses to root for people instead. Cook is going to continue rooting for Mahomes and the Chiefs, but next season he's adding Kliff and the Cardinals to that list.