Embrace the Villain Role, Chiefs Kingdom — The Chiefs Aren't Underdogs Anymore
Chiefs Kingdom, the time has come to embrace the haters. This wasn’t something I anticipated we would experience so soon in the Patrick Mahomes era, but here we are.
It wasn’t long ago that the Kansas City Chiefs were the hunted rather than the hunters — a franchise that was cursed and could never win the big game. They were always trying to knock off the big dogs in the AFC. It was the Patriots, Titans, Steelers, Patriots again, Colts, Ravens, Colts again times three (thanks, Peyton Manning), Broncos, Dolphins, and in January 1994, it was the Buffalo Bills.
This fanbase lived through so many postseason disappointments. Let’s take a deep breath and walk down memory lane, though it could be painful for some.
The names Steve Bono and Lin Elliot don’t mix well together when discussing Chiefs history. Three interceptions and three missed field goals in the same game brought an otherwise-amazing season to a screeching halt against the Colts in January 1996.
Losing to a divisional rival while holding Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway to 10-of-19 passing. Yes, this was the year we wanted Rich Gannon over Elvis Grbac. An awful day in early January 1998 for Kansas City Chiefs fans.
The no-punt game in January 2004. There isn’t much to say about this one. The Chiefs went from having a dominating defense in the ’90s to having the exact opposite of dominant defense in the early 2000s. Trent Green, Priest Holmes, Dante Hall and the rest couldn’t make up the difference.
The first playoff game I ever attended was a 30-7 loss to the Ravens in January 2011. I used money that I had won from a fantasy football league to buy my tickets and can honestly say it wasn’t worth it. Somehow Matt Cassell and Todd Haley snuck into the playoffs that season. In hindsight, it was Jamaal Charles and his nearly 2,000 yards of total offense that really led the way that season, but falling flat in the playoffs went about as expected.
When Andy Reid and Alex Smith joined the party, there was hope that playoff success would find its way back to Kansas City again. Unfortunately for Chiefs Kingdom, their first trip to the playoffs left us feeling like the wind was taken out of our sails. A 38-10 lead ended up as a 45-44 loss to the Andrew Luck-led Indianapolis Colts.
In Alex Smith’s final game as a Kansas City Chief, Travis Kelce left with a concussion in the first half and the Chiefs' offense never recovered. Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown to himself, Derrick Johnson’s sack-fumble was blown dead due to "forward progress" and Chiefs Kingdom's curse continued.
Then Patrick Mahomes took the league by storm. He won the regular-season MVP award and led the team to their first-ever home AFC Championship Game in franchise history in 2018. The end result for the season was disappointing due to the Patriots ending KC's year one more time, but the Kansas City Chiefs were on the map.
We all know what happened since that loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. The Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV and have won 24 of their last 25 games in which Mahomes has been the starting quarterback. They are on a historically great run and the honeymoon is over.
National media has begun to turn their back on the Chiefs. Other fan bases have said referees and the league itself is helping the Chiefs get wins. This didn’t really start happening with Tom Brady and the Patriots until their second run of success when they ran the gauntlet in the 2007 regular season.
Brady’s first three Super Bowl victories were won by a combined nine points. The Patriots weren’t an offensive juggernaut and relied much more on their defense in their first few championships. They went nine years between Super Bowl titles, but winning the AFC East every year and sustained success took its toll on other fanbases.
Mahomes and the Chiefs got one full year to be darlings of the NFL before being forced into the villain role in the eyes of many. This year it was the Browns and Bills that became sweethearts of the league. Cleveland was a team that hadn’t won a playoff game in 25 years. Now it’s another young quarterback star-in-the-making, Josh Allen, and the Buffalo Bills who hadn’t won a playoff game in 24 years. They overcame the Patriots in the AFC East and have won two home playoff games en route to their matchup in Kansas City this weekend. Everyone is cheering for the underdog. No one outside of Chiefs Kingdom is rooting for the Chiefs anymore as they try to turn one Super Bowl victory into a dynasty.
It is time to embrace it, Chiefs Kingdom. Take it in. Let the national media get off their hot takes. Let other fanbases get into your mentions and comment sections on social media. Soak it all in. Take that heel-turn and accept the fact this is what it is going to be like for the rest of the Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes era in Kansas City.
When your team has the quarterback who wants to win not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six… Super Bowl Championships, and he might just have the talent and mental capacity to accomplish whatever goals he sets, it’s time to buckle in for the long haul.
After all of the pain and suffering Chiefs Kingdom endured for decades, enjoy this time as the ones with a target on your back. It just means you’re the envy of the league.
