Super Bowl 2024: How the Chiefs and 49ers players are embracing ‘boring’ Henderson with the town of 300,000 that sits 32 miles away from the Las Vegas Strip their home: ‘It’s not like we can go gamble’

Henderson, Nevada is, according to the city’s motto, ‘A Place To Call Home.’

That’s exactly what the San Francisco 49ers and defending champion Kansas City Chiefs will call it until Sunday’s Super Bowl, played 32 miles west, in a city with a decidedly different motto: “What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas.”

But even if this evocative, overused maxim were true, it loses all meaning this week as hundreds of thousands of Chiefs and Niners fans with cellphones descend on Sin City with an eye toward encountering their favorite players. Quite simply, what happens in Sin City this week could shape the rest of the professional lives of these players and coaches.

“Believe me, I love Vegas,” a smiling 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said Wednesday. ‘I love everything it has to offer. But I don’t experience any of that at the moment. We have a kind of team mantra: ‘Stay boring.’ We just hang out at the hotel, hang out in our rooms and hang out with each other.”

After the Super Bowl, Juszczyk continued, he and his teammates can “enjoy everything Vegas has to offer.” But for now, it’s just the 49ers, the Chiefs, and a narrow corner of a man-made reservoir euphemistically called: Lake Las Vegas.

The Henderson resorts have been covered in cloud rain since the teams arrived on Sunday

As Chiefs coach Andy Reid noted on Opening Night on Monday, the rival AFC and NFC champions are “kind of like neighbors” in Henderson.

Each club has its own well-guarded golf resort in the city of about 320,000, although with persistent rain and temperatures around 40 degrees, no one was in danger of hitting the links early this week.

Besides, who has the time?

Even if the players’ game preparation remained consistent from the regular season, media and promotional responsibilities will be added for those who reach the Super Bowl.

“We haven’t had any downtime,” Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend told DailyMail.com. “When we got home Sunday night, we went straight to meetings and then straight to bed, practice the next morning and then practice for Opening Night. We had a short break last night, but this morning we got right back to it.”

As Chiefs center Creed Humphrey put it, “It’s nice to get away from the big scene of it all.”

Henderson’s boredom is so welcome that players even enjoy their interactions with journalists, no matter how tiring they may become.

When asked if he enjoys the media attention, Juszczyk admitted that he “honestly does.”

“I don’t want to say you forget, but you almost forget how important this is,” the 32-year-old Ohio native said. “This game is one of the sports spectacles in the world. And to be able to do things like this with you, it’s really just a reminder of what a big event it really is.”

Juszczyk is the first to admit to having an affinity with Las Vegas. The 49ers fullback just isn’t going right now

Best of all, when the media packed up and returned to Las Vegas in the afternoon, the players had a chance to enjoy the moment and each other’s company without any distractions.

“There’s no shortage of parties or things to do,” Chiefs safety Justin Reid said of Vegas. ‘I think it’s great for the fans to be in such a fun atmosphere. For us, we are only concentrating on one thing and that is the match on Sunday. So I think it’s very healthy for us to take some distance from that.’

And there’s not much to distract you with in Henderson, as fun as it is.

Exactly one fan was spotted outside the teams’ respective resorts on Tuesday: an excited woman in a Chiefs jacket who accidentally took the media bus for a player shuttle. (Let’s hope she never learns the truth)

The closest Henderson gets to The Strip is a remake of Florence, Italy’s Ponte Vecchio, but instead of walking tours and diamond merchants, Nevada’s version of the medieval bridge is home to some resort apartments.

As Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, players are already accustomed to the trappings of Las Vegas

Chiefs star Travis Kelce is rumored to have his own villa attached to the Chiefs building, although any obsessed Swiftiess would do well to avoid the significant police presence spread across Henderson this week.

But lest anyone think this is a secret party den for players, it’s worth remembering that the 49ers and Chiefs both played in Las Vegas and stayed in the area during the preseason and regular season.

Neither team filmed a sequel to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas during their short stay, so it’s easy to assume the temptation is now just as disappointing.

“I’ve been to Vegas before,” 49ers player Chase Young told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. ‘I enjoyed Vegas. I only like Vegas because, apart from the Strip, I find Vegas really chill and relaxed. Do whatever you want at any time of the day.”

Reid isn’t surprised.

“The guys all come here on their own time,” he said Monday. ‘They will. But while they are here (this time), they are concentrating.”

A single Kansas City Chiefs fan was able to take in the team facilities in Henderson

Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend is enjoying the absence of gambling at Henderson

Chase Young’s big concern for the afternoon? Get a massage and watch a movie

Numerous players from both teams reminded reporters that this is a “business trip,” which, while cliché, remains a popular response.

Chiefs defenseman George Karlaftis compared it to his team’s road trip to Germany in November, calling it “an extended away game.”

Others described the largely cavernous resorts as a welcome oasis, far from anything that promises to sabotage their Sunday.

“I don’t mind at all,” Townsend said. ‘It’s not like we can go gambling or anything. At the end of the day, it’s a business trip. It’s good that we’re here so we limit other distractions. If we were on the Strip, there would be a lot going on and we wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“I think it’s a good thing we stay here.”

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority may not agree, but Henderson does have its advantages: comfort, peace, security, a safe buffer against Sin City, and a staff of hundreds ready to meet any football-related need comply.

“I’m about to get a massage,” Young said as media availability ended Tuesday.

Young’s afternoon plans may lack excitement, but as Juszczyk said, the 49ers aim to “stay boring” — which, by the way, would be a great new motto for Henderson.