Chiefs Kingdom and Swifties, Patrick Mahomes is in Anaheim!
The Kansas City Chiefs have gone back-to-back and are celebrating at the happiest place on Earth – Disneyland.
In a season driven by championship-or-bust aspirations, having a bullseye on their back and media frenzies surrounding superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes and America’s new media darling Travis Kelce for mostly things not about their play on the field, the dynamic duo carried and willed their team to a Super Bowl dynasty.
Kansas City has done what no team in a generation since the New England Patriots did back from 2003-2004. With now four Lombardis in the trophy case, the Chiefs have entered the pantheon of elite NFL franchises with at least four Super Bowl championships: the New England Patriots (six), Pittsburgh Steelers (six), San Francisco 49ers (five), Dallas Cowboys (five), Green Bay Packers (four) and New York Giants (four).
The Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the big game, 25-22. The Niner Faithful are experiencing deja vu losing once again at the hands of the best quarterback in the NFL while leading by double digits.
Patrick Mahomes “is a baaaaaad man!”
In the NFL, it is hard to capture a Super Bowl title let alone build a dynasty after winning one. Winning three Super Bowls in the last five years with four appearances overall in the big game, the Kansas City Chiefs have officially entered rarified air which the Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and previously mentioned New England Patriots have exclusively been a part of.
As Travis Kelce said in each of the last hoistings of the Lombardi Trophy, “You have to fight for your right to party!” And what better way to celebrate winning another Super Bowl than turning up in Las Vegas, hitting the blackjack tables for a bit, popping some champagne then hopping on a jet to go to Disneyland.
Sunday’s Super Bowl, the most-watched telecast in the big game’s history according to Bleacher Report, made for some meme-able moments from Patrick Mahomes’s face down 10, a face many 49ers fans are all too familiar with, Travis Kelce lividly bumping and arguing with head coach Andy Reid on the sideline after being removed for a play, 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel’s face of disappointment after the loss and most memorably Big Red saying “How about that d?” on national television after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Major facepalm.
Carter Henderson, a 24-year-old digital sales rep and lifelong Chiefs fan, said it feels good being part of a dynastic fanbase. “I feel this postseason was a wild ride,” Henderson said. “The amount of adversity that this team had to overcome and the media whirlwind surrounding this team, makes this Super Bowl win that much sweeter. I remember being a young football fan and watching Tom Brady dominate the NFL with those patriots teams, leading them to fourth-quarter comebacks and dreading the inevitable outcome the entire way,” he said. “It feels amazing to be on the other side of the dynasty building.”
Henderson also highlighted two narrative changes: the Chiefs’ change from being a high-flying offensive young team to being the next villains of the NFL and Andy Reid being a choke artist of a coach in the postseason to now being square in the GOAT conversation for NFL coaches. “The Super Bowl has cemented my mind on a couple of things: first, Brett Veach and the Chiefs scouting department are one of the most underrated elements of this dynasty, second, Andy Reid is one of the best coaches in NFL history and lastly, Mahomes and Travis Kelce are the GOATS at their positions,” he said. “I’d also like to shout out the role of this defense and guys like Spags, Chris Jones, Trent McDuffie, and L’Jarius Sneed for this run. This defense carried this team in the postseason and had ‘no name guys’ making splash plays consistently,” Henderson said.
Three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes has had the honor of previously celebrating a solo cavalcade last year. This year was no different as he, his wife Brittany, two-year-old daughter Sterling Skye and one-year-old son Patrick “Bronze” Lavon got to celebrate in the house of the mouse.
Swifties and football fans alike were wondering if Kelce’s superstar girlfriend, Taylor Swift would be celebrating with the Chiefs in Disneyland.
Well, she wasn’t and neither was the superstar tight end. As per tradition, the Super Bowl MVP is the only one to make an appearance with the only exception being the Super Bowl LVI celebration signifying the first post-pandemic Super Bowl cavalcade hosted in Los Angeles when the Rams won it. Quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Cooper Kupp all appeared on the victory float.
Amanda Rosewah, a 30-year-old Arkansas native, planned the Disney trip for today and coincidentally realized that she may get to see her favorite artist. “I’ve had to tell a lot of my friends that I didn’t plan this intentionally and I totally forgot the Super Bowl was yesterday but it worked out,” she said. “I’m both a Chiefs and Taylor (Swift) fan so hopefully I get lucky.”
Nick Lasley, a 24-year-old doctoral training program student and lifelong Chiefs fan, summed up his quarterback’s greatness in a nutshell. “Patrick Mahomes has single-handedly propelled the Chiefs into a dynasty” by doing any and everything his team required of him and “even dragging a team to a championship in a ‘lost year,’” said Lasley.
Although it was a Chiefs celebration, plenty of Niner fans sporting their favorite player were spotted. Christian Hathaway, an 8-year-old wearing a Christian McCaffrey jersey, was disappointed his team lost but said, “I believe in my team and we’ll be back next year.” Sounding like his favorite tight end, George Kittle, many Niner fans attending the cavalcade were optimistic their team will make it back to the big dance.
Only time will tell if they can. For now, the spoils of victory reside and belong in Kansas City. Red Kingdom stand up, rejoice and all hail to the Master Chief, Patrick Mahomes.
Congratulations on being back-to-back Super Bowl champions. On to the offseason.
