Getty Image
Earlier this week, the story of a Kansas City Chiefs fan who was working on the construction of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in 2017 resurfaced and went viral.
It’s a good story, perfect for the internet, and the timing of it being rehashed occurred because the Chiefs will be playing in Super Bowl XLIII in Allegiant Stadium.
It goes something like this…
The Chiefs fan, Gerard DeCosta, supposedly buried a “Chiefs Kingdom” flag in the dirt under some concrete at right around where the 50-yard-line was going to be when the stadium was complete.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal even wrote a story about it.
A Chiefs fan named Chris Scherzer posted a photo of a man wearing a white hardhat and dark glasses and holding a red and gold Chiefs banner with the inscription “Chiefs Kingdom” on his Facebook page. “Flag buried in dirt, encased in concrete, with a stadium built on top of it,” the message said. “Chiefs 1, Raiders 0. Las Vegas.”
Cool story, bro?
Just one problem.
According to KLAS News, it’s bogus.
“He’s a fantastic Chiefs fan. He loves the Chiefs,” local labor union leader Tommy White told KLAS News, referring to DeCosta. “He’s been a longtime fan of the Chiefs.”
He also said there is no Kansas City Chiefs flag buried under the stadium.
How does he know this?
Because, he says, then Raiders president Mark Badain contacted him wanting to know if the story was true after it caused an uproar among the team’s fanbase.
White, who oversaw the construction of the stadium, spoke to DeCosta to find out the truth.
And the truth is that he didn’t bury the flag under the stadium.
In fact, White has the flag from the photo that went viral and showed it to KLAS News.
“He just told me the full story about it,” White said while holding the flag. “This is his flag. It’s never been buried.”
After White revealed that the flag hadn’t actually been buried, the Kansas City Star reached out to Gerard DeCosta.
“I’m pleading the 5th,” was all he would say.