Spring Hill’s very own, Janel Carbajo, otherwise known as ‘The Puppet Lady’ in the Chiefs kingdom, won tickets to the Super Bowl LIV a finalist for the Ford Hall of Fans. She’s one of three finalists, all of which have been awarded tickets to the Super Bowl. After arriving in Miami, Carbajo learned that she was the overall finalist and will be inducted into the Ford Hall of Fans in Ohio.

Carbajo retired from the school district after teaching for 31 years, last year, but that’s not when her love for the Chiefs started. Carbajo and her husband have had season tickets to the Chiefs games for thirty-one years. It all started with a white elephant gift at a wrestling Christmas party.

“I won the Sylvester Stallone  puppet and we had one of the many helmets of the Chiefs. My husband said to put the helmet on there, and it started out being humorous just messing around. Then I started taking that to the games when our eldest daughter was a little girl, it’s been about 27 [or] 28 years ago, kind of just to keep her occupied at the games. And I started to notice that because our seats were in a really good location, a lot of the camera-men would put us on the big screen. So then we acquired another puppet, and put the opposing helmet on them and then people just recognized me as the puppet lady.”

After being the ‘puppet lady’ for over 25 years, Carbajo was nominated for the Ford Hall of Fans by Will Shields, and pushed through by her supporters to be a finalist. 

“It was very touching [to find out I was a finalist], and it made me cry just a little bit. Because I was so glad to make it in the top three. It was pretty exciting. It’s really unbelievable, here I am in Miami and I still can’t believe I get to go to the Super Bowl and my team is in it. That’s like a once in a lifetime experience.”

Not only is Carbajo getting a once in a lifetime experience, she’s become a local celebrity. 

“I didn’t realize how stressful it could be, like when I walked into the airport today everyone was just like looking at me like ‘I voted for you, I voted for you’ they were so excited. I’ve had to do so many interviews, it’s a good thing I’m retired so that I can do this thing. But it’s been fun.” Through all the ups and downs, she’s been there for the Chiefs and through that she has become one of their most loyal fans, and Spring Hill one of hers.

“I just want to tell everybody thank you for voting for me. I’ve just had an outpouring support from former students that I’ve had, and teachers that have put it on FaceBook. Social media has just put me in touch with a lot of former acquaintances that I’ve had and people are just calling me up and texting me, and oh my gosh it’s so good to hear from them. And I really appreciate their support.”