The Kansas City Chiefs are a rising dynasty in the NFL. With four Super Bowl appearances in the last five years (on Sunday they’ll pursue the third ring in this process), Patrick Mahomes and company are defining an era like the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots did earlier this century.
But apart from their dominance, what these dynasties have in common is that their success didn’t sit well with the rest of the league. Mahomes is aware that most neutral fans are rooting against the Chiefs this year, which reminds him of the opposition the Patriots faced back in the day. However, the 28-year-old expects his team to handle it differently.
“I know the Patriots had that for a while. I’m hoping we do it in a different way with a little bit more fun and personality with it,” Mahomes told Jeff Darlington of ESPN when talking about the villain status his success in Kansas City has created in other fans’ eyes.
Mahomes and company have seen how other fan bases were rooting for their opponents throughout the playoffs, especially in the AFC Championship Game, when the possibility of seeing Kansas City in yet another Super Bowl became even more real. Being the villain is not what the Texas Tech product wants, but if that’s what it takes to continue succeeding, it won’t be a problem.
Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts as he takes the field before the AFC Wild Card Playoffs against the Miami Dolphins at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 13, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.
“I can definitely sense it,” Mahomes said. “I never felt like that because I’ve never been like that in my entire life. But it’s become a little bit funny. I don’t want to say you enjoy it. But as long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren’t going to like me, I’ll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example, but I can be that villain for them if they need me to be.”
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Brady and his Patriots made a lot of enemies during their period of glory, especially due to controversial episodes such as the Deflategate scandal. For years, the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft was dubbed as a “system” quarterback, with people underestimating his influence on the Patriots’ succeess while crediting all the Super Bowl rings to head coach Bill Belichick. Of course, others went even further by claiming New England was favored by the officials.
But eventually, Brady seemed to change the narrative around his image. All it took was to leave New England and prove he could succeed elsewhere. Many Brady haters ended up respecting and recognizing his legacy when he won Super Bowl LV with the Buccaneers, showing he was capable of winning outside Belichick’s system in Foxborough.
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Mahomes’ path has been different so far, as he started being admired by most of the league until his talent became too hard to stop. This year, most of the fan bases made it clear they wanted another AFC representative in Super Bowl LVIII. Mahomes and his Chiefs became the team to beat in the NFL, and that results in many people wanting to see them fall. It may not be what Mahomes wants, but it’s part of being the leader of a successful team.
