The Chiefs have become the Patriots. And that is not a compliment. At least not in these parts.
I am getting irritable in my 50s. Losing patience for reruns. What started innocently five years ago has become a full-blown annoyance.
It all began when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2019. They stepped onto the biggest stage, stopped paging Dr. Heimlich and announced themselves as a power. Cap tip. Congratulations. What has happened since is unfathomable and unacceptable. They have gone from fantastic to dynastic, appearing in four Super Bowls in five years and winning three.
The diagnosis: Chiefs fatigue. And there is no vaccine. I checked when I got my flu shot.
Symptoms include lack of enthusiasm, rolled eyes, mood swings, boredom, bloodshot eyes and blurred vision.
The Chiefs deserve all the attention they get. But I am over it.
It traces back to my life as a writer. You root for the story. And the Broncos-Chiefs games have been more predictable than a Scooby-Doo cartoon. The Broncos devise a mischievous scheme, get punched in the face and insist they would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling refs.
Denver has lost eight straight in Kansas City and 16 of their last 17 overall.
Pulling for the undefeated Chiefs has become like rooting for Apple stock.
Wasn’t it bad enough that we had to watch the Patriots follow this script from 2001 to 2007 and again from 2014 to 2018?
By 2015, I felt sorry for the Chiefs. I covered the game in 1998 when Shannon Sharpe drove Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas bonkers by allegedly reciting his girlfriend’s telephone number, drawing three personal fouls. I watched Peyton Manning spend four years putting their heart in a blender.
It was funny, if not unusually cruel. At one point, the Chiefs lost eight consecutive playoff games over 25 years. It was kind of sad. And even more hilarious.
Now they face Denver with a Joker’s grin. Sunday they are an eight-point favorite, fitting for a team that has won eight straight AFC West titles. The explanation for Chiefs fatigue is layered: No one threatens them in the division, they win too much, and they are omnipresent.
I can’t turn on the TV without seeing Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid. Mahomes tells me what to eat (fresh at Subway), how to communicate (T-Mobile), who should clean my hair (Head & Shoulders) and where to bundle my home and auto insurance (State Farm). The only things missing are a hormone clinic, weight-loss diet, baked beans and a car dealership.
According to The Wall Street Journal, no celebrity appeared in more commercials during the 2023 season than Kelce. He promotes cereal, hardware, cable TV, soup, soda and sandwiches.
As for Reid, he steals the show with his “nuggies” spot with Mahomes for State Farm and his “great googly-moogly” line in a remake of the Snickers “Chefs” commercial.
These guys are fun. So is ice cream. But I don’t eat it for breakfast. Is their …read more
Source:: The Denver Post – Sports
