When the Chiefs ran the Chargers out of Arrowhead on Halloween in 1999, the box score wasn’t the only thing that got ugly for San Diego. Kansas City’s defense also turned a local electronics promotion into a very expensive scare.
The Chiefs rolled to a 34-0 win, forcing four turnovers with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Reggie Tongue added the exclamation point with a 7-yard fumble return for a touchdown, and that play sent Chargers quarterback Erik Kramer to the bench in favor of Jim Harbaugh, who is now the team’s current coach.
That shutout had real money attached to it. BrandsMart, an electronics store in Kansas City, had promised to refund purchases of $399 or more made in the previous four days if the Chiefs blanked the Chargers. The insurance company on the hook had to cover 381 purchases totaling more than $450,000, according to The Star’s reporting at the time.
Inside the locker room afterward, the celebration came with a commercial twist. “Let’s hear it for BrandsMart!”
Not long after, Derrick Johnson summed up the giveaway side of the afternoon with a line that fit the moment: “I hope everyone enjoys their free big-screen TV on us,” Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson told reporters afterward.
Gunther Cunningham’s team did all its damage in the first three quarters. Elvis Grbac threw two touchdown passes, and the Chargers never even reached the red zone in the first half. They finally got deep into Chiefs territory early in the fourth quarter, but their chance to break the shutout disappeared when the Chiefs stuffed Tremayne Stephens for no gain at the 1-yard line and then forced Harbaugh to fumble on fourth down.
San Diego’s next possession went even further and came up empty again. The Chargers put together a 14-play march that stalled at the Chiefs’ 15, then chose not to try a field goal that would have made it 34-3. Instead, they turned the ball over on downs.
So the Chiefs left the field with the win, and some Kansas City customers left Arrowhead with the kind of Halloween treat you don’t forget: a free TV, stereo and/or VCR.
ESPN even highlighted the BrandsMart promotion on “SportsCenter,” and the memory has lived on as part of the Chiefs’ Halloween lore. BrandsMart later closed its final store in the Kansas City area in 2004, but on that day in 1999, the promotion was unforgettable for everyone involved - especially the people who got their money back.
“Whatever amount is paid is worth it to support the home team,” Rick Burt, BrandsMart’s director of advertising, told former Star scribe Jeffrey Flanagan at the time. “We came up with the promotion idea Tuesday about noon and began advertising in newspaper, radio and television the next day, and it really drew an incredible response.”
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