Kansas City Chiefs fans endure long, heartbreaking road to Super Bowl

The Andy Reid Era Losses

The Chiefs have been on the right track since Andy Reid arrived in Kansas City, but the painful playoff losses have endured. Frankly, I could have done a full breakdown on four of his five playoff losses in Kansas City.

His first season ended with a brutal loss in Indianapolis where the Chiefs were up 31-10 at halftime and ended up losing 45-44 in the infamous Andrew Luck fumbles and still scores a touchdown game.

The next two seasons would see the Chiefs lose in New England in the divisional round and then at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers the following year in the “Eric Fisher Holding Call Game” where they would only score 16 points.

Then there was the equally infamous Marcus Mariota throws a touchdown pass to himself game where the Chiefs would lose by one point to the Tennessee Titans.

All these losses further cemented the “we’re bound to suffer, we’ll never make it to the Super Bowl” mentality in Chiefs fans. Seriously, how many other teams can have that many playoff losses so painful that we’ve named them? However, they also ultimately brought us to Patrick Mahomes. If the Chiefs hadn’t lost that game to the Steelers, they might not have traded up for Mahomes in the draft. If Alex Smith hadn’t lost to the Titans and took the Chiefs deeper in the playoffs, who knows when Mahomes might have seen the field. The Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl in large part because Patrick Mahomes is their quarterback. Period. That painful road led us to him.

Even Mahomes had to experience the Kansas City Chiefs playoff heartbreak for himself last season when they missed out on a trip to the Super Bowl by one Dee Ford offsides call. The “Dee Ford Game” was enough to make fans wonder if this brutal history of heartbreak was too much for even Mahomes to overcome.

As the Chiefs fell down by 24 points against the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round, we all thought it. “Oh no, not again!” Only this time the Chiefs really would say “Not again!” They rallied in furious fashion and then did the same on Sunday after an early 10-0 start by the Titans. Mahomes and this team would not be denied. There is no curse. There is no mandate for Chiefs suffering. The 50-year Super Bowl drought is over. Clark Hunt finally held the Lamar Hunt trophy up in victory. It’s really happening.

Every fan base feels amazing when their team makes it to the Super Bowl. I’m sure San Francisco 49ers fans are thrilled today too, but no other fan base can understand what this means to us as Chiefs fans. They don’t understand the road we’ve taken to get to this point. That’s why this feels so amazing. That’s why the tears flowed for so many after that game ended.

Soak this moment in Chiefs fans. Savor it. Even if we’re lucky enough to make it to multiple Super Bowls during the Mahomes era, it will never feel quite like this again. This win exorcised some demons that won’t ever return. Celebrate that. We’ve earned it and maybe, just maybe, from here on out we can define our history not by the heart breaking losses, but by the amazing victories like “The Comeback” against the Texans or “The Run” by Mahomes against the Titans.

The best part? They aren’t done. This isn’t the ultimate goal. As the confetti flew and the trophy was hoisted, Andy Reid had one last message for his team and all of Chiefs Kingdom.

No, it’s not done coach. There is one more game to win, but we can worry about that tomorrow. Right now I’m just going to enjoy the fact that for the first time in my lifetime, the first time in the 10 years and 544 posts I’ve had writing for this site, I can finally close my piece with the following:

The Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl.