Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Patrick Mahomes addresses playing the role of villain

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 2/5/24

The Kansas City Chiefs have quickly become the team that everyone loves to hate, and Patrick Mahomes says he is ready to embrace that role.

ESPN’s Jeff Darlington shared on Monday that he recently asked Mahomes if the star quarterback feels like he has become a villain to other NFL fan bases. Mahomes said he can “definitely sense it” and compared his current situation to when the New England Patriots were at the height of their domination.

However, Mahomes said he hopes he and the Chiefs can play the bad guy role a bit different than Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Patriots did.

“I never felt like that because I’ve never been like that in my entire life. But it’s become a little bit funny. I don’t want to say you enjoy it. I know the Patriots had that for a while. I’m hoping we do it in a different way with a little bit more fun and personality with it,” Mahomes told Darlington. “But as long as you keep winning, teams start to not like you, and I want to keep winning. So if that means some of the other teams and other fan bases aren’t going to like me, I’ll try to still have a smile on my face and not be a bad example, but I can be that villain for them if they need me to be.”

When I sat down with Patrick Mahomes recently ahead of the Super Bowl, I asked him if he senses that he's become a bit of a villain to other fan bases. His answer, specifically his comparison to the Patriots, was a pretty honest assessment: "I can definitely sense it. I never…

— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) February 5, 2024

Many fans pointed out that the Chiefs have not become the NFL’s biggest villain only because of their recent success. A lot of people are tired of hearing about the relationship between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift and having the music icon stuffed down their throats during NFL broadcasts. That has certainly led to an increase in the number of people who want to see Mahomes fail.

There was also the cringeworthy moment that Mahomes had with Josh Allen earlier this season following Kansas City’s loss to the Buffalo Bills (video here). Mahomes threw a fit over a costly penalty that was the right call. That rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, too.

Still, most Chiefs haters are just tired of seeing the same team win. You can understand why Mahomes is looking forward to the opportunity to make those football fans even angrier.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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