KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It might be the ultimate sign of sports victories.

When the Kansas City Chiefs celebrated during Wednesday’s Super Bowl parade downtown, one local cigar-maker made sure players had a celebratory smoke for the occasion.

Smoke rolls freely from this smart business move. The Chiefs had a robust crowd of thousands show up for that parade on Grand Boulevard, and Maxx Krueger made sure his company’s cigars were along for the ride.

Kansas City Cigar Company heard the pleas from Patrick Mahomes, who lamented that he had no victory cigar for the postgame celebration three weeks ago.

That’s when Krueger connected with Chiefs players, getting his cigars to the Super Bowl locker room, and eventually, to Wednesday’s parade route.

“We knew they were going to win. We had to get them down there. We can’t leave them cigar-less,” Krueger said.

Krueger said security workers allowed him to deliver his cigars directly to the parade route buses on Wednesday. Chiefs players were even spotted sharing some of of them with fans along the parade route.

“They were already pretty excited from pre-parade activities. I was able to give them the cigars. I gave them lighters and cutters and said, ‘Guys, enjoy these. You’ve earned them,” Krueger said.

Krueger and his brother-in-law, Kirk Lakebrink, rolled these cigars using a special blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. The company works with growers from Central America and the Caribbean to purchase their leaves.

“To have taken the scrappy approach as we did of reaching out to players, and doing anything we could,” Lakebrink said. “It’s a huge accomplishment for us to get these into their hands.”

Krueger said KC Cigar primarily works private events like parties and wedding receptions. Getting involved in a huge one, like the Super Bowl parade, could be a long-term boost for business. It’s certainly Kansas City pride that can’t be purchased.

“Hopefully, the awareness of this and people will say — I want some Chiefs cigars — some celebratory victory cigars too,” Krueger said.

Learn more about Krueger’s cigars at the company website. Kansas City Cigar Company products can also be purchased at The Jewel Event Space and The Easy speakeasy on Admiral Boulevard.