The Kansas City Chiefs might lose to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game on Sunday, sending Tom Brady to another Super Bowl and Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid back to the drawing board.
And that’s ok.
I know how you feel. You don’t want to hear that. To you, it won’t be “ok” if the Chiefs lose tomorrow. You’re tired of waiting, tired of the playoff heartbreak. You’re sick of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. You want it to be your team this time, your turn to shout and holler and go to a parade. After all, many of you have never gotten to see the Chiefs play in a Super Bowl, let alone win one. Those of you who have, well, you’ve waiting long enough for another turn on the ride, no?
This past week I have been asking myself how I will feel if the Chiefs don’t win tomorrow. Obviously, I will be devastated but I will also be hopeful and thankful. I will be thankful because even though a loss will mean the waiting for a Chiefs Super Bowl appearance will stretch on at least another year, I now know that the future for this franchise is brighter than ever before. A loss Sunday won’t be “just another Chiefs playoff collapse.” It won’t be another “Andy Reid can’t win the big games” game. It will be painful, it will be frustrating but it won’t be excruciating.
Because the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes has changed everything. At long last, the Chiefs, our Chiefs, have the most coveted QB in football. Yes, Brady’s the GOAT. Yes, Brees is incredible. Rivers is a gamer. But Patrick Mahomes has time on his side and that means, even if the Chiefs lose Sunday, over the long haul, they’re going to win. A lot.
When was the last time you can remember going into a season not just hoping but KNOWING the Chiefs were legit Super Bowl contenders? Be honest. Yeah, those Trent Green teams were pretty good. So were some of Alex Smith’s teams. But at the end of the day, you knew there would come a time when the Chiefs would have to win a big game and those guys were going to have to beat a better QB. You knew the odds were much more in favor of the Chiefs not winning the Super Bowl than winning it.
For the next ten or so years, that isn’t going to be the case. The Chiefs are always going to be in the mix because they have the best player at the most important position in the game. They have the MVP. They have Patrick Mahomes.
Winning the Super Bowl is hard. Look how long it took Peyton Manning to get it done. Rodgers only has one. Brady, who any sane football fan has to admit is the GOAT (and Joe Montana is the reason I am a Chiefs fan so don’t @ me), even lost a couple. Mariono never got one. Mahomes failing to get it done in his very first season starting is not part of the Chiefs’ legacy of playoff pain. It’s a step, an important step, toward the day Patrick Mahomes does lift the Lombardi Trophy high above his head.
I’m worried about tomorrow. Brady still has something left in the tank. Belichick is still the greatest football coach ever. Those guys are going to have tricks up their sleeves. They’re probably going to give the Chiefs everything they can handle. KC has weaknesses to exploit and if any duo in the NFL is going to exploit those weaknesses, it is Brady and Belichick. There is no shame in losing to them. As good as the Chiefs are, as good as Patrick Mahomes has been, beating the Patriots in January is no easy task.
Of course, there is always the possibility that we aren’t just witnessing the infancy of the next great NFL QB, we’re witnessing his coronation. The Chiefs have a better roster than the Patriots. The Chiefs are at home. The Chiefs have the more dynamic QB. There is a very good chance the Chiefs will win. They might even win big.
If the Chiefs fall tomorrow, I’ll be upset and angry but I won’t despair. Things are different now. We have Patrick Mahomes.
I’ll leave you with an old Arrowhead Addict tradition. A poem, Chiefs style.
The Road I’ve Taken
Two roads diverged, on a snowy field,
And alas, I could but travel one
And be one Chiefs fan, fate long sealed
The painful path was the one I’d yield
To where ghosts from the past blocked the sun;
I peeked at the other, just for fun,
Hoping for a better quarterback,
A man not afraid to throw a ton.
I spotted Mahomes, who won and won,
And threw left-handed avoiding sacks.
And both the roads surely featured pain,
For I had also seen that Pat can lose,
I left the first for ‘twas pain in vein,
And followed Pat and his floppy mane,
Content to ride with Andy’s new muse.
The Chiefs might lose, I say with a sigh,
A Super Bowl to come ages hence:
Two roads diverged on a field, and I-
I took the one Mahomes traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.