Why Travis Kelce is worth the headache

On Sunday, Travis Kelce was flagged for his third personal foul in as many games. How big of a problem is Kelce?

I want to start this post by making something clear. I am not here to make excuses for Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. He is a grown man and he needs to be responsible for his antics. That being said, I don’t want Kelce to change too much. Here’s why.

I was at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday to take in what turned out to be a great game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, especially down the stretch in the second half. It was one of those games where you truly felt like the crowd was having an impact on the outcome. In a close game like that, it is important to have players that are into it, who bring that electric energy to the game and pump up the crowd. No one brings more energy to the game than Kelce.

This energy is something that you appreciate more being at the game than watching on television. Kelce does an incredible job of getting the crowd into it, as well as energizing his teammates. I don’t want the team to lose that energy.

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This is where things get tricky with Kelce. Where do you draw the line between bringing a critical energy to the team, and in turn harming the team with pointless antics? Andy Reid is one of the best in the entire league at leading his locker room, yet, it is evident he has his hands full with Kelce.

To this point, Kelce hasn’t done anything that the team can’t overcome. But with the penalties becoming more and more regular, it is only a matter of time before Kelce’s antics costs us a game. The only reason he can continue to be put up with is because the Chiefs can’t contend without him.

Yes, Kelce’s antics could very well cost the Chiefs a game or two at some point, but the number of games they have won and will win because of Kelce far outweighs the bad.

A guy like Kelce is the kind of player that can put a team over the top in the postseason—not only with his incredible athletic ability, but with the passion and energy he brings to the team. The Chiefs cannot make a deep postseason run without Kelce. They just can’t. That is why, as frustrating as he can be, we have to put up with him. Kelce is not a bad guy, he simply has allowed his emotions to get the best of him. There is not one of us who could say that we haven’t done the exact same thing.

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This team’s success, by and large, depends upon Travis Kelce. That makes him worth the headaches.