It had been 50 years since the Lombardi Trophy made its way back to Kansas City, Missouri, before Sunday night’s 31-20 Chiefs victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Former Washington Pam Pack and Kansas City Chiefs’ wide receiver Terrance Copper was ecstatic for the Chiefs’ win.

Copper graduated from Washington High School in 2000. He compiled 2,826 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns on 159 catches during his time playing on J.G. “Choppy” Wagner Field.

The star wide receiver went on to have a great career for the East Carolina Pirates, then into the NFL. He started his career with the Dallas Cowboys, then played for the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens before finishing his career in Kansas City from 2009 to 2012.

Copper, now a radio host on 94.3 East Carolina’s radio station in Greenville, also owns The Premiere Sports Academy in Winterville. He says that he continues to be a Chiefs fan and reflected on his time in Kansas City.

“Being a part of the ‘Chiefs Kingdom,’ it’s a family environment. The fans, the culture of it, just seeing those guys win that championship was special,” Copper said. “There are just so many former Chiefs players that worked their butt off to get to that point. The organization does a great job of teaching the history behind the Kansas City Chiefs. Lamar Hunt, the owner and founder of the Chiefs, was a big part of merging the AFL and NFL together. Even the AFC Championship trophy is named after Lamar Hunt. … Seeing that group of guys and coach (Andy) Reid bring that thing home, it was very exciting for not only the players and coaches, but for the fans as well, because they deserve it.”

Lamar Hunt passed away in December 2006, and the franchise now belongs to his son, Clark Hunt.

Patrick Mahomes is talked about as one of the best quarterbacks to step onto the football field, and Copper believes Mahomes can be mentioned amongst the elite.

“If you look at his stats and how young he is, his upside is through the roof,” Copper said. “You can’t say he doesn’t have that potential, but it’s still the type of work you have to put in, year in and year out. That’s not taking anything away from Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Drew Brees or Brett Favre, but he has the opportunity to be one of those guys or even better.”

Copper had the privilege of being coached by Andy Reid in his final NFL season. Reid had just parted ways with the Philadelphia Eagles and landed in Kansas City in 2012. Reid has 207 regular season wins and 14 playoff wins; both are No. 1 on the all-time NFL wins list. Reid has coached for 21 years and won his first Super Bowl on Sunday night.

“Coach Reid fits perfect with the Kansas City Chiefs. Like I said, Kansas City is a family environment. They treat you like family and don’t flip on you whether you’re winning or losing. They love you regardless,” Copper continued. “Andy Reid’s personality and the way he coaches and the way the kids love him and want to perform for him fits perfectly with the style of Kansas City and that organization. All the great things said about Andy Reid are true. … It was a honor to spend the time that I did spend with him and get taught by one of the all-time greats.”