Kansas City, Mo ? The man in the crowded restaurant grabbed his cell phone and began dialing as quickly as his short, chubby fingers could punch the buttons.

“Guess who just walked up to my table and introduced himself?” he said, practically shouting to be heard above the din. “Dick Vermeil! And he had Trent Green and Bobby Bell with him!”

Kansas Citians in factories, restaurants and shopping malls all over town received unexpected visits Thursday afternoon from many of the people who own, run, play or used to play for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The idea was to just stroll around and thank everyone for supporting the team that will mark its 40th anniversary this fall and has led the NFL in home attendance six of the past seven seasons.

“I think this is wonderful. It really makes me wish the football season were beginning right away,” said one woman.

With everybody starting at noon, owner Lamar Hunt and a collection of past and present players showed up at the General Motors Assembly plant across the river in Kansas City, Kan. Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson and his group took the downtown Kansas City, Mo., area. President and general manager Carl Peterson worked the Sprint campus and other parts of suburban Johnson County.

Vermeil, accompanied by wife, Carol, as well as Green and Bell, mingled with shoppers and diners on the fashionable Country Club Plaza.

News media outlets agreed not to say anything about the Chiefs’ plan so the whole production could be as spontaneous as possible.

The only people who knew what was coming were the managers of the various businesses that were visited.

Diners in a crowded Chinese restaurant looked up in amazement as Vermeil approached their table, followed closely by a couple of cheerleaders, a television crew, two reporters and a private security guard. After a few minutes of chit-chat, it was on to the next table.