“Chiefs spoil former ASU kicker’s homecoming.”

Kansas City, MO – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – October 7, 2024 – “Growing up and watching Kansas City Chiefs games at Arrowhead Stadium, Sedalia native Blake Grupe could only imagine what it would be like to play there . “That was the first line of a story written in his hometown newspaper, the Sedalia Democrat, about former Arkansas State University football placekicker Blake Grupe, now a placekicker for the NFL's New Orleans Saints. Grupe really did it on Monday night when the Saints played Kansas City on Monday Night Football.

“I’ve been looking forward to this since I saw it on our schedule,” Grupe said. And that goes for Grupe's hometown of Sedalia, Missouri, population 21,947, about 80 minutes east of Arrowhead Stadium. A large group from Sedalia set up a tailgate along a grassy knoll in the parking lot between Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals baseball team.

Grupe wore a red jersey in his first season in Jonesboro and then scored 354 points as Arkansas State's placekicker in 2018-2021. Equipped with a Covid bonus year, Grupe transferred to Notre Dame, where he went 49:49 on extra points and 14:19 on field goals. Grupe's name was not called in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he was offered a deal as an undrafted free agent by the New Orleans Saints. In the first preseason game with the Saints, he scored the game-winning field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs. He competed with veteran kicker Wil Lutz for the placekicker spot and won the position battle when Lutz was traded to the Denver Broncos. Grupe signed a three-year, $2,697,500 contract with the Saints, including a $2,500 signing bonus, $2,500 guaranteed and an annual salary of $899,167. In 2024, Grupe will earn a base salary of $915,000.

In his first year with the Saints, Grupe was perfect on extra points (40 for 40) and 30 for 37 on field goals, including his longest goal of 55 yards. Grupe has already covered that distance with a 57-yarder in 2024.

I had the opportunity to travel to Kansas City for Monday night's game with my wife Jenna, my daughter Ellie and her husband Nick Smith, and Nick's mother and stepfather Stephanie and Damon Alexander. Nick was Grupe's fraternity brother at Arkansas State (Delta Theta Chapter, Pi Kappa Alpha). “We had several Arkansas State athletes in our community,” Nick said. “Often they were so busy with their sport that we didn’t see them often. Blake was different. He was probably the most active athlete we've ever had. He was active on campus and in Pike. Blake was in the pledge class where we welcomed our 2,000th member into the church.”

“I played softball with Blake's dad,” said Jimmy Brown, who fired up his flat-top grill at 1:30 a.m. and prepared hot dogs, frog legs and rice for the jambalaya. I never saw him leave the flat grill. “We were pretty darn good,” Brown said. “I watched Blake grow up. He's a great boy. We are all super proud of him.”

The oldest award at the tailgate went to 91-year-old Patty Wageknecht. She danced around the tailgate, beaming with pride. “When Blake’s family came to Sedalia, they lived in a house on my farm,” said Wegenknecht. “I'm sure it's the worst place Blake has ever lived. I love this family.”

When I met Kevin Walker, I thought I had met the mayor of Sedalia. It turns out he is the hostess at a Sedalia restaurant, Katie's. He has known the Grupes for years. “I recently bid online for a player card from Blake Grupe. It was 1 in 25. I was so excited,” Walker said. “I kept bidding and said to myself, 'You need to slow down, the auction is still running for 27 hours.' Turns out I was bidding against Blake!”

The parents' pride was clearly evident at the tailgate party celebrating Blake. “Oh, you have no idea,” said Brad Grupe, Blake’s father, when I suggested that there was something special about watching his children achieve great things. “Blake is having a lot of fun. His sister Lauren is studying business administration at the University of Arkansas. His brother Brett plays college baseball at the University of Central Missouri. We have a lot of fun.

Blake's mother Sarah Grupe also beamed. She was the chosen family spokesperson when she and Brad appeared on Kansas City's Fox 4 television. “Look at all these people,” Sarah said on TV. “These are Blake fans and we couldn’t be prouder. Blake loved his time in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I'm glad you're here. Enjoy yourself. If you see a drink, drink it. If you see food, eat it.”

The Chiefs (5-0) defeated the Saints (2-3) 26-13 on Monday night. Grupe went 1-for-2 on PATs (points after touchdown).