Great Bend residents Chuck and Meg Wilson have bought a block of tickets for the Kansas City Chiefs’ National Football League preseason home opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
Both teams are 0-1 entering Friday’s 7 p.m. kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., televised on CBS.
Braden Wilson, who prepped at Smith Center High School, is a rookie fullback out of Kansas State, a 2013 sixth-round NFL draft selection.
“My parents have purchased several tickets for the game,” Wilson said. “Nothing outrageous. It’s my first NFL game at home in front of my family and friends.
“It’s going to be a big deal, not that it’s going to be a distraction by any means. I’m really looking forward to it.”
While the 49ers played in the Super Bowl last season, losing to the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City endured a miserable 2-14 campaign.
But the new-look Chiefs underwent a major facelift in the offseason, hiring a new general manager in John Dorsey, a new head coach in Andy Reid and bringing in a veteran quarterback in Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft, who spent eight seasons in San Francisco.
When Reid implemented a version of the west coast offense, it was paramount to shore up the fullback position.
Enter Wilson, a 6-foot-4, 256-pounder, and third-year pro Anthony Sherman, 5-10, 242, who was acquired in a trade with the Arizona Cardinals shortly after the draft.
Sherman currently is No. 1 on the depth chart and Wilson is No. 2.
“We’re all trying to make the team, with the exception of a handful of guys,” said Wilson of the Chiefs trimming their roster down to 53 for the season opener on Sept. 8 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville, Fla. “Everybody is kind of on edge, thinking you really have to come in on top of your game.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m settled in. I’m getting there. It’s a real ordeal. I know what I was getting into. College football is no joke, either. You at least have a sense, an idea, of what to expect.”
Wilson logged extensive playing time in the Chiefs’ 17-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints last Friday night at the Superdome.
“Last week, I felt like, for the most part, I did pretty well,” Wilson said. “There are some things that I can definitely improve on, and that’s what I’ve been doing this last week is working on that improvement.
“I’m always trying to turn up my game.”
The 49ers lost 10-6 to the Denver Broncos last Thursday.