WHY WILL 125 MILLION WATCH? CHIEFS ARE AMERICAN PIE IN 2025 AND DO NOT LOSE
They’ve weaved their way into the American consciousness by winning in the end, with astounding statistics, while we watch the defense support Patrick Mahomes mania while Taylor Swift leaps in a suite
In the spirit of our nation, while jet planes crash and New Orleans eyes more deadly terrorists, why not honor dignified champions from the midland? Kansas City is perfect, known for Hallmark cards, barbecue and the Chiefs. They continue to be watched reliably by those who love the quarterback and an old receiver, who might marry Taylor Swift and shakes while singing, “Let’s do a little dance, let’s make a little love, get down tonight!”
How can we not admire them? Patrick Mahomes remains the king of sports with his Kermit the Frog voice and avoids scandals, except an inability to fire a football inside the end zone. “That is why I don’t try to spike the ball,” he said after a goofy botch, which didn’t deter another progression of success, a dependable flow of poise and confidence rarely seen in sports.
All while Travis Kelce is smooching Swift, as he did a year ago, in a sweet “Tayvis” clutch. “I love you so much. I’m so proud of you I can’t stand it,” Taylor said on the field after the AFC championship game. “Look what you did. Look what you did!”
“Wait ’til two weeks,” said Kelce, having no doubt his team will win a third consecutive Super Bowl and a fourth since February 2020.
“Oh, my God. This is so insane!” said Swift, who merely has played to global crowds of 70,000 for a decade. “Look at this! Look at this! This is not a real-life situation!”
Well, it is. When NFL ratings have sunk slightly, the Chiefs and the Mahomes maniacs and the Swifties are expected to draw around 125 million viewers Sunday night — another record audience at a Super Bowl. Kendrick Lamar will bring his Grammys, but he’s just halftime noise. This express is bigger than the New England Patriots and Tom Brady because that team had nothing but self-induced wrongdoing, one “gate” after another, despite winning six titles from 2002 to 2019. This team has a megastar who is 29 with floods of new talent, especially on defense, where coordinator Steve Spagnuolo — no head coaching offers? — received a bigger hug than Clark Hunt did from the owner’s wife.
Pressure apparently does not exist. The Chiefs have won their last 17 one-possession games, a dozen this season, a league record. They do not lose and would be the first major sports team to win three straight since the 2000-2002 Los Angeles Lakers. And though some saps are bored and accuse the officials of KC bias, some of us are hooked. “We’ve done it over and over again, it becomes habit,” said Mahomes, who praises the defense more than his offense. “Obviously, we want to win by more.”
Why? They are more watchable this way, building a viewership until they win in the final minutes, as they did against Buffalo eight days ago. People watch the Chiefs to see how Mahomes wins … again. “The pressure part of it, when things can dilate you a little bit — when things are tight — don't do that to him,” coach Andy Reid said. “He kind of flourishes in those moments when they're the toughest. He's just wired that way.”
Dynasties leave an individual mark — the Patriots, the Warriors, the Bulls, the Dodgers, the Yankees — but this one doesn’t involve blowouts. The NFL doesn’t expect one-team dominance with revenue sharing and a salary cap. The Chiefs keep thriving while entering a new era with general manager Brett Veach. Mahomes remains a bargain with a 10-year, $450 million deal that falls $15 million annually below Dak Prescott — and he wants management to take full advantage in the offseason. In his Hawaiian shirt, at 66, Reid watches without much movement on the sideline. He sees gumption.
“I think the guys kind of thrive on that,” he said. “That’s kind of the attitude that these guys have. It’s all of these guys. So, when given an opportunity, they’ve stepped up in those situations. As a coach, you love that part. And you know that’s a rare thing. These games could have gone either way. Guys, they take so much pride in stepping up. They don’t shrink in those situations.”
Forget about “Tayvoodoo,” a term from Kelce’s podcast with brother Jason. It’s a tribute to Swift, who was dating a British movie dude when the dynasty started. “Here you go with this (bleeping) Tayvoodoo (bleep) again,” Travis said. The triumphs are beyond any romance.
The beauty of Mahomes is his humility. He makes fun of his “Dad Bod” more than a chubby guy on a sitcom. “Yoooo why they have to do me like that!?!?!? #DadBodSZN,” he wrote this season. Luka Doncic has yet to win a championship with his Dad Bod, yet Mahomes — a Dallas fan bummed out by his trade to the Lakers — is about to claim his fourth ring. He grew up in major-league baseball locker rooms thanks to his father, Pat Sr., who pitched 11 seasons for six teams. “I’m sure growing up in a locker room with his dad was a big part of that, or at least a part of it,” Reid said. “But some if it is just innate, that’s given to you. He’s one of those guys, the tighter the situation, the looser he plays.”
“Whatever he’s got to do to get us to the next level, to win the game, Pat’s going to do it,” Kelce said.
No wonder Bill Belichick wants the Vince Lombardi Trophy to be renamed for Brady. He’s concerned Mahomes, if he wins four, will surpass Brady’s seven. “Maybe they should name it the Brady Trophy,” Belichick said. “Players win games. You can't win games without good players. I don't care who the coach is, it's impossible. I didn't make any tackles. I didn't make any kicks. There's always a way to win. You just got to figure out what it is, and you have to give the players a chance.”
What the Chiefs see in Mahomes is a man far beyond cutting determination. His offensive coordinator is Matt Nagy, who was fired in Chicago with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback but continues to push Mahomes to all-time levels. The night before the AFC championship game, he texted his wife as if he was watching The Hulk.
“Pat’s slowly turning into his superhero creature tonight at a hotel as we speak. It’s the coolest thing ever; not many people understand,” Nagy told The Athletic. “He creates an edge and becomes a different person as he gets locked in! It’s fascinating. Has that look in (his) eye tonight, that normal people don’t have.”
We laugh at normalcy when he overcomes adversity. When the Chiefs have trailed in the fourth quarter, Mahomes is the only quarterback in league history to post a winning record — 27-26. In the postseason, when they are losing in the fourth quarter or overtime, 13 of his 14 drives have led to points while he won six comebacks in nine games. His numbers: 40 of 56 for 552 yards with five touchdowns, a run for a score, no interceptions.
And then he speaks with his Kermit voice. His wife doesn’t like the mockery, ripping Bills fans for hanging a frog wearing a No. 15 jersey from a pole. “Do we remember this, Buffalo?” Brittany wrote. “Absolutely disgusting. So as you go home tonight, I pray we become better people.”
Typically, Mahomes posted Kermit as he sipped tea.
“I’ll see y’all in New Orleans,” the frog said.
A Hallmark card, I would suggest.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.