As the Chiefs chase a threepeat, the target on them has never been larger
The NFL season kicked off this week with a much-anticipated matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game. Throughout the broadcast, it became very clear what the conversation around the Chiefs this year will be: a possible unprecedented three-peat.
Winning three titles in a row is incredibly difficult. The last time it happened in the NFL was in the mid-1960s by the Green Bay Packers prior to the Super Bowl era. In other sports, it has also been a long time since a team has won three titles in a row. In the NBA the Los Angeles Lakers last did it in 2002 and the New York Yankees were the last three-peat in baseball in 2000. If the Chiefs were to accomplish this feat, a question that arises is how they will be viewed, and will they be celebrated or vilified?
The best sports stories, the ones that have books written and documentary films about them are typically dynastic. There is something inherently fascinating about a team that can figure out the formula for winning and unlock the steps to continue that success. Because beyond the difficulty of winning one title, winning multiple titles comes with the added complication of ego management, and that is what so many of us find interesting.
When a team wins at a high level, its focal pieces become more demanding with an inflated sense of importance. We saw this with the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. With this self-importance comes conflict and with conflict comes fascinating stories. The Chiefs have some of these elements brewing throughout their run, just as the dynasties before them did.
They employ Patrick Mahomes, one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the position. His standing in a historical sense by itself is incredibly fascinating. This is coupled with his longtime target Travis Kelce, who has transformed into a pop culture supernova thanks to his New Heights Podcast with his brother Jason and his relationship with music megastar Taylor Swift. The Chiefs have also ventured into the conversations about political realms as Swift and Kelce have long echoed more liberal perspectives while kicker Harrison Butker and Mahomes’ wife Brittany have expressed more conservative values in recent months.
This ideological difference in a charged political climate in the United States in 2024 is quite simply fodder for conversation. The polarizing nature of Swift among NFL fans is enough reason to make the team controversial, as many have expressed differing opinions on her being shown in limited spurts during broadcasts. These storylines dominate the existence of the team and are underscored by the emerging historical greatness of Andy Reid’s case as the best head coach of all time. Additionally, the team’s young defense is another layer to the story as a testament to building organically through the draft. The Chiefs are a good story, but it can also be argued that their success has led to fatigue.
The idea of parity is one that is championed by American sports fans. Great teams are interesting as they rise to the top, but once they arrive there, they become the villain. The rise of the Golden State Warriors was a feel-good story...until they became unbeatable. In the NFL, the story of a level playing field is always a part of the league's messaging. But the reality is that we have exited the Tom Brady dynasty era and entered the Patrick Mahomes dynasty era in its place.
The Chiefs at first were a story of the changing of the guard, a team led by a cast of likable characters. But now they are a team that is the national enemy because they are wearing the heaviest crown in American professional sports. Rival fans are sick of their success, think that they get too favorable of a whistle from referees, and have mixed opinions about the off the field exploits of various players.
What the Chiefs are experiencing is the shifting of conversation around them in real-time. Which is unfortunate in a certain sense. They lost an elite all-world talent in Tyreek Hill and won a Super Bowl without him. They have had turnover on the defensive side of the ball and have seamlessly drafted young talented players to build a good defense organically. They have one of the best tight ends to ever play the game and a dynamic quarterback that is must-see television. And around those two stars they have continued to bring in high producing young talent like Rashee Rice, Isaiah Pacheco, and Xavier Worthy.
But instead, they are now the “evil empire”, because we crave something or someone new. Perhaps this sentiment is exacerbated due to the NFL already discussing the potential for a three-peat. Either way, the Chiefs target is larger than it has ever been. The up-and-coming teams in the AFC are even more hungry. But such is life at the top of the mountain, a position that is never safe and always under attack. The way this team reacts to this pressure will ultimately be the story of this NFL season...here’s hoping that it will be an interesting one.
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