The Kansas City Chiefs are on the brink of achieving NFL immortality by potentially winning their third consecutive Super Bowl. However, their dominance has led to a shift in perception, with some viewing them as the new 'bad guys' of the league. This article explores this narrative, examining the Chiefs' rise to power, their likable personalities, and their undeniable on-field success.
You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
' That famous film quote, featured in The Dark Knight, holds particular relevance as we steel ourselves for what could be yet another Kansas City Super Bowl title this week, with the Chiefs eying NFL immortality as the first ever to win three Super Bowls in a row - although at a cost! In the midst of their dominance in the NFL over the past seven seasons - this, a fifth Super Bowl run, along with seven-straight AFC Championship appearances spanning Patrick Mahomes' entire NFL career as a starter - it is easy to forget they were once the heroes, the great new hope that signalled the end of the 'evil empire' of the past that was the Tom Brady and Bill Belichick axis out of New England. David did not quite slay Goliath at the first attempt, Brady and Belichick getting the better of the Chiefs at the Conference Championship stage in that first season of the Chiefs' run - the pair notching a sixth and final Super Bowl victory for the Patriots and their prolific partnership - before the former returned in a new uniform and with new toys at his disposal in Tampa Bay as the Buccaneers inflicted a first (and only) Super Bowl defeat on Mahomes and co two years later. On Sunday, Brady will this time be up in the stands commentating on his first Super Bowl, potentially watching his healthy lead on Vince Lombardi trophies being chipped away at further as Mahomes looks to land a fourth to his seven - and all before his 30th birthday! Brady was 37 when winning his fourth, and one thing even he and the all-conquering Patriots of the early 21st century even failed to achieve was win three in a row. So are we already looking at the new 'GOAT' of the sport? 'I'm just trying to be the greatest Patrick Mahomes that I can be,' the Chiefs superstar quarterback said this week when asked precisely that. 'That's obviously a goal of anyone's, to be the greatest at their profession but, in order to do that, you have to be the greatest that you can be every single day - if that's on the field and the work ethic I put in, or off the field in the father and husband that I am. 'I'm going to try to be the greatest in that way, and whenever I'm done with football, if I leave everything out there the way that I feel like I have so far, as far as effort and mentality, I'll be happy with the results and I'll let others talk about who the greatest is of whatever profession that is.' He added: 'I never really think about my legacy; I care more about the legacy of our team. We've put in so much work and worked so hard that I want to be remembered for the team that we are and the team that we built here in Kansas City.' Hardly the words of some master villain. And that is part of the problem as we enter this new reality where Mahomes and Kansas City are considered the NFL's new 'bad guys' as they prepare to attempt to win it all yet again. How can they be the villains when they are just so damn likable? This is not Brady and his media-trained image of perfection, nor his more 'system-QB' skillset. This is Mahomes and his likeable, everyman demeanour combined with gun-slinging talent at the quarterback position the like of which we have never seen before as he effortlessly flings balls deep down the field, throws the odd one left-handed and sidearms his way past all before him. Through seven seasons, Mahomes has the edge on Brady in every major category, his 32,352 passing yards and 259 total touchdowns dwarfing the GOAT's 26,370 yards through the air and 202 total TDs at the same stage. He also already has two league MVP awards to his name, with Brady having clinched one of the three for his career by this point. As for Super Bowl appearances, this is Mahomes' fifth, with three MVP awards also bagged from the sport's title game. This is not a surly Belichick in a ragged, moth-eaten cut-off hoodie masterminding his latest evil plot from the sideline. This is cheeseburger-loving, Hawaiian shirt-wearing Andy Reid dreaming up his next genius play design to match that of Jet Chip Wasp (see Super Bowl LIV win over the San Francisco 49ers). Bond villain-lookalike Rob Gronkowski makes way for the ultra-charismatic Travis Kelce - he and global superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift combining for quite the tandem - as the quarterback's top target. And though there are a fair few disgruntled fans complaining of favourable treatment from referees, but with little substance - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell labelling it a 'ridiculous theory' earlier this week… 'Spygate' and 'Deflategate', that hovered over some of the Patriots' successes, this is not. Regardless, the role of villains is one the Chiefs are embracing in the build-up to Sunday's game in New Orleans
NFL Super Bowl Kansas City Chiefs Patrick Mahomes Tom Brady New England Patriots Andy Reid Travis Kelce
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