KC Chiefs prove doubters wrong, are apparently gaslighters

SB Nation had some interesting takes on some of the Chiefs’ players’ comments following the Super Bowl and during yesterday’s parade. 

It really is remarkable how much of history, specifically history surrounding “love ’em or hate ’em” sports franchises like the Kansas City Chiefs (apparently), can turn from orthodox to revisionist with little to no accountability required in the transition. This week has brought us dozens of examples of this very trend with the Chiefs taking home their second Lombardi in four seasons and those who very publicly doubted them seemingly bringing the “Homer Simpson into the bushes” gif to life.

While Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and other members of the Super Bowl champion and newly dynastic Chiefs have spent time calling out the haters and doubters that tried to get off their hot takes prior to the 2022 season kicking off, there is an equal and opposite pushback coming from those who seem to think that never happened.

While many fans of teams in Cincinnati, Denver, and other conquered wanna-be empires have squawked the loudest on social media, there have been some previously assumed credible media outlets who have now joined the effort to bend reality. One even decided to bestow the Chiefs with the incredibly intuitive title of “Super Bowl champions of gaslighting”.

Good one, seriously. As I read through this masterpiece of American literature I had to marvel at the combination of strength and empathy with which author James Dator approached the subject matter. Dator provided a strong, stern tone when addressing the Chiefs’ crimes against humanity—gaslighting the people of the world with their faux “us against the world” rhetoric—while also showing a soft, understanding side by admitting that he was going to let the sentiment go before being so fed up that he had to put his feelings on the internet. I can’t blame him, getting triggered online is one of the most accepted ways of expressing one’s feelings in 2023.

Many know what gaslighting is, but being someone who isn’t as hip to internet lingo—I’m 34, which is internet ancient—I had to look this up. Apparently gaslighting is a psychological tactic used by oppressors or abusers against their victims to make them feel like they are actually the victim in the scenario. Interesting concept and application, but I’ll get to that later Dator.

Has this man forgotten the swarms of media and social media keyboard warriors who danced on the Chiefs’ graves when Tyreek Hill was traded? Those who swarmed to pick the Chargers, Raiders, and Broncos to win the AFC West when their rosters were so stacked that Kansas City has no chance of keeping up? Do we not remember Josh Allen and the Bills being anointed new Kings of Football after the rules were changed for them and the Chiefs’ second consecutive playoff conquest over them was all but brushed over?

Let’s take a look at some of the receipts from this timeframe. Hat tip to Chiefs Kingdom for being some of the best on the internet at keeping these alive.

Our old friend Marcellus Wiley didn’t just say the Chiefs might have a hard time winning the AFC West or even making the playoffs, he declared the Chiefs’ Super Bowl window as “shut”.

Another pillar in football academia, Bart Scott, had the gall to tell Mecole Hardman to his face that the Chiefs wouldn’t make the playoffs. You know your take is piping hot (and likely wrong) to get a reaction like this from RG3.

https://twitter.com/hardrocksb/status/1624874986581139457?s=42&t=6hTKiQkfu9kwXeiURHtC2w

We all remember NFL Network’s Jamie Erdahl’s take about the Chiefs finishing last in the AFC West in 2022. This thumbnail should be hung in the Louvre.

Sadly, though, these weren’t just crimes of some misguided individuals who may or may not have been drinking the Irish variety of coffee on the mornings that they spewed these eventual falsehoods. ESPN’s FPI metric, an algorithm (I guess) developed by people who are (probably) much smarter than any of us, pegged the Chiefs to finish third in the AFC West this season—behind the Broncos. 

As a reminder, the Broncos were so inept this season that they finished 5-12 with minimal injuries. That’s not the worst part. They suck so bad at sucking that they don’t even get to cash in on the fifth overall pick because of that atrocious Russell Wilson trade with Seattle. My guess is the FPI gave that trade an A-grade.

Even one of my personal favorites, Rich Eisen, drank the off-season “it’s hip to pick against the Chiefs” Kool-Aid. Everyone makes mistakes, Rich.

All in all, there are dozens upon dozens of examples of folks who doubted, hated on, or downright disrespected Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs leading into a season where they finished 14-3 and captured the AFC’s top seed en route to another Super Bowl Championship. Some even predicted that Mahomes himself would be “exposed” without Tyreek Hill this season. Leave it to Skip Bayless to prematurely predict the downfall of the league’s eventual MVP.

I’ll leave a couple more of the better compilations of receipts from Chiefs Kingdom that have been accumulated over the past couple of days here, just to pile on the evidence in this trial of public opinion.

There is some truth to the Chiefs gaslighting allegations, sheerly by the definition of the term. The Chiefs have, in fact, mentally manipulated many in the NFL. Their “questionable” personnel moves and long-sighted approach to roster building gave a false sense of hope to the rest of the league, as evident by the media’s reaction leading into 2022. They then flipped the script and put everyone in a mental pretzel by somehow being better than ever before. But they didn’t even sign a high-profile free agent or give someone a market-setting contract?!

The mental manipulation tactic the Chiefs have deployed is not gaslighting. It’s the beautiful minds of Brett Veach and Andy Reid painting a masterpiece with a centerpiece that wears number 15. The Chiefs have marked their territory in the NFL and asserted their dominance like a dog standing behind a sign telling you to beware of it. Whether people want to continue to doubt them, dislike them, or disrespect them by picking against them, they will continue to be a team that has to be dealt with.