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Kansas City will spend this summer in World Cup mode, and Team England showing up in Chiefs Kingdom should have been a feel-good moment rather than a controversy. While nobody expected drama from a simple wardrobe choice, Ollie Watkins managed to pick a jersey that a visitor to Kansas City should ideally not be caught wearing. The fanbase has made sure he knew it from this point on.

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“I did wear a Cowboys jersey the other day when I was out with my family, and a guy came up to me and said, ‘You can’t wear that around here,'” the forward told the press on June 21, via KSHB41’s Matt Foster. “So, yeah. I won’t be wearing that again. I don’t know too much about American sports.”

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The Kansas City Chiefs actually started as the Dallas Texans back in 1960, founded by the late Lamar Hunt as part of the brand new AFL, to compete with the NFL. In response, the league launched the Dallas Cowboys to compete with the team. For a few seasons, from 1960 to 1962, these two shared the Cotton Bowl, before Hunt eventually packed up and moved the franchise to Kansas City in 1963.

The Cowboys also helped with the bill, paying $246,500 to cover the Texans’ moving costs in exchange for having Dallas all to themselves, according to ESPN.

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Given how the Chiefs have ballooned as a brand in the past decade and a half, it’s unlikely for someone to find a fan of another team in Kansas City. However, this might be one of the lesser-known rivalries in NFL history.

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Since their first meeting in 1970, these two franchises have faced off 13 times, and the Cowboys lead with eight wins. Both teams are also neck and neck in scoring: the Chiefs averaged 20.2 points per game, while the Cowboys are at 20.3. And unlike Dallas, who have been chasing a Super Bowl win for 30 years now, Kansas City has won three within the last 10 years.

It is also ironic how the crown jewel of the Kansas City Chiefs, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, grew up in Texas. Before the red and gold, the Cowboys were his first love. It wasn’t until he came to Kansas City that he understood the ground situation.

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“When I first got here, I was very surprised,” Mahomes told ESPN. “That’s an under-told rivalry.”

Team England will be based in Kansas City for the duration of the World Cup. The visiting team doesn’t get to play at Arrowhead, but the city was chosen as a host to best manage their travel. And in the short while that the English have been here, Kansas City is rubbing off on Watkins.

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“The hospitality has been amazing, and I felt like everyone’s so friendly over here,” he told the press. “I need to check out, I think, Joe’s Bar-B-Que as well, I think, at some point.”

Here’s hoping that by the time Team England makes its way back across the pond, they’ll have a better idea about the right jersey choices.

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Written by

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Ishani Jayara

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Ishani Jayara is an NFL Writer at EssentiallySports, covering the league with a focus on team narratives, season arcs, and the evolving dynamics that shape professional football. Introduced to the sport through friends, what began as casual interest steadily grew into a deep engagement with the game, guiding her toward football journalism. A longtime San Francisco 49ers supporter, she brings an informed fan’s perspective while maintaining editorial balance in her reporting. Her path into sports media has been shaped by experience in fast-paced digital environments, where she learned to navigate breaking news cycles, long-form storytelling, and the demands of consistent publishing. Alongside this, her professional background in quality-focused roles sharpened her attention to detail, structure, and clarity, qualities that now define her editorial approach. At EssentiallySports, Ishani concentrates on unpacking key NFL moments, tracking shifting team identities, and connecting on-field performances with the broader narratives surrounding the league.

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Afreen Kabir

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