Royals, Chiefs, Sporting KC ‘Light It Blue’ for healthcare pros and essential workers
The Kansas City Royals announced a campaign in conjunction with the Kansas City Chiefs and Sporting KC to recognize and thank healthcare professionals and essential workers for their efforts during the COVID-19 coronavirus global pandemic.
The #LightItBlue campaign will begin Thursday, April 9, at 8 p.m. CT. All three teams will display the campaign logo on their digital boards at their respective stadiums.
The campaign follows in the footsteps of a late-March movement in the United Kingdom in which major landmarks were lit throughout the country to show support for healthcare providers.
In a letter signed by Royals chairman and CEO John Sherman, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt and Sporting Kansas City principal owner Cliff Illig, they stated, “On behalf of the Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs and Sporting KC, we invite you to help us light Kansas City blue this Thursday, April 9, in salute of the extraordinary, selfless and brave men and women who are fighting this pandemic 24 hours a day.
“The goal of this effort is to create a global expression of support and gratitude to the healthcare and essential professionals who are saving lives around the clock, ‘toward creating a universal symbol of solidarity and hope.’”
The letter encourages fans to show their support during the 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. hour by lighting their homes blue and using the hashtags #LightItBlue and #MakeItBlue on social media.
“Our hope is that Greater Kansas City will participate in support of the extraordinary first responders who are putting their lives on the line each and every day to fight the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sherman, Hunt and Illig wrote.
Sporting KC saw its season halted after two regular-season games, both wins. They last played on March 7.
The Royals were in the middle of spring training when MLB suspended camps and announced an indefinite delay of the season on March 12.
The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are preparing for the 2020 NFL Draft, which will take place as planned later this month. The draft will commence “virtually,” as front-office personnel and coaches will not be allowed to gather in their facilities. All NFL facilities have been closed since March 26.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Royals, Chiefs, Sporting KC ‘Light It Blue’ for healthcare pros and essential workers."
