Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story Review: A Heartwarming Love Story

Many people have the tradition of sitting down during the holiday season to watch a Hallmark film with their family. This tradition is centered on family, faith, and love, which are also the themes of Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.

After years of cheerfully making our holidays, Hallmark has decided to make a film that is a love letter to all the family traditions out there. Sure, it is a collaboration with the NFL to focus on the most popular team in the league right now, but it’s about more than just football.

At one point, Alana’s family is introducing Derrick to their family beliefs and traditions when the question of why comes up. The answer is simple: the Chiefs and their fans are just different from any other team.

Hunter King and Tyler Hynes Have Undeniable Chemistry

From the moment Derrick accidentally bumps into Alana and her family at their BBQ Restaurant, the sparks are there. It isn’t very common anymore to feel like two love interests at the center of a romantic film have natural chemistry. 

However, whatever Hallmark is doing when casting their romantic leads is spot on because, from that first moment, Hynes and King exude familiarity, connection, and passion. Even when Alana gets turned off to Derrick because he mocks the family’s belief that one hat is what makes or breaks the Chiefs’ Superbowl chances.

Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story works because the chemistry between Alana and Derrick has a natural progression to it that never feels fake or forced. We truly feel as though we are watching two very different people find each other, learn to understand one another, and then fall in love.

Also, they play into the Hallmark Christmas movie formula of one loves something excessively while the other is a bit of a curmudgeon. Only this time, the formula is twisted a bit to include Alana’s faith in her team and in the Christmas spirit, while Derrick has none of those.

The Chiefs Kingdom’s History of Traditions

While I said this film is a love letter to the Hallmark fanbase, it is also a love letter to the fans of the Kansas City Chiefs. As someone who was raised to be a diehard Chiefs fan no matter the weather (and trust me, most of my life, times were bleak), this film hit me directly in the chest where it matters most.

I’ll be the first to say I’m not a big believer in the magic of Christmas. I love it as a holiday centered on family and traditions, but the commercialness of the holiday I’ve never liked, i.e., tree decorating, carols, Santa, etc. This film is a testament to all of that in the best way that brings even the most “Bah Humbug” of us into the circle of joy and happiness.

For those viewers out there simply watching because their favorite pop star started dating a player on the team, welcome to Chiefs Kingdom. The team’s history is filled with stories of fans who have a tradition that they believe to be the sole reason their team started winning Superbowls again. 

It takes a special kind of person to stick with a team through 50 years of heartbreak and disappointment. This film sees that tenacity and ensures that the rest of the world understands the magic of believing in a team that almost didn’t make it out of the trenches. 

Everyone has their team, and sure, this movie could’ve used any NFL team to get the meat of the story across. However, there is just something that much more magical about the Chiefs because we’ve endured so many years of hard times. It is similar to if the film focused on baseball and the Chicago Cubs.

Family, Faith, and Tradition Make Christmas and Chiefs Tick

Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story wants viewers to walk away believing in the faith of their family above all else this holiday season. After all, we see Alana put all her energy into the magic of the family’s Chiefs hat only to lose all her faith when the hat goes missing again. 

At this point in the film, everyone is sold on Derrick’s love for Alana because he’s proven time and again that her holiday warmth is enough to turn his attitude around. He starts to decorate his office, learns the stats of the team he works for, and actively and joyfully participates in Christmas traditions with her family.

This change in Derrick makes Alana’s loss of faith that much more pronounced. We pay attention to it more because, finally, he’s out of his curmudgeon phase, and yet he still messes up because now she’s in hers. 

That give and take is completely necessary to make this film move away from heavy-handedly selling the Christmas spirit message. It brings the focus back to these two particular people and how their beliefs and their faith set the tone of the whole film. Strip away the Christmas and Chiefs of it all, and we still have a beautiful love story worth tuning in for.

Is it predictable that Derrick takes her on a special tour of the stadium ending in their first kiss? Yes, but aren’t all the Hallmark films that predictable? It’s what fans tune in for.

The strength of Alana’s family sees her through her temporary lapse in faith to allow her to find joy in winning the Fan of the Year Award and the overall Christmas holiday. That’s what makes this film stand out; it’s not just about romantic love but also about the love of family and of a team.

Traditions make us who we are. As Grandpa Paul so aptly puts it, “The magic is not in the hat. It’s in what the hat represents.”

Stray Thoughts:

• The film’s homage to what makes the Chiefs Kingdom what it is—friends, family, and community—was a nice addition. 
• Donna Kelce, as the cashier at Norma and Nic’s BBQ Restaurant, was lovely.
• The mom and grandma were the comical part of the film, with their pushiness for Derrick and Alana to get together.

 

What did you think of Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story is streaming on Peacock.

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