The Kansas City Chiefs pursuit of a championship three-peat, shooting to become the first team to ever accomplish the feat, has been a sore subject in New England.
Patriots fans, protective of the team’s dynasty, don’t want the Chiefs to one-up the accomplishments of Tom Brady & Co., who while winning six Super Bowls, never won three-in-a-row.
So they’re passionately rooting – and praying – for the Philadelphia Eagles to take down Taylor Swift’s favorite team on Super Bowl Sunday.
While the fan sentiment in New England might be a bit over the top, it’s certainly understandable.
The better question is how do the players feel? Do the Patriots, who were a part of that unprecedented run of championships over the course of 18 years, even care if the Chiefs win?
Does it make as much of a difference to them, as it does many of their fans?
It depends who you ask.
Three-time Super Bowl winner Ted Johnson falls in the camp of the fans. He sides with the Patriots faithful. He’s annoyed by the possibility of the Chiefs doing something his team wasn’t able to accomplish. Johnson was part of three championships in four years, but didn’t win the three consecutively.
“I’m mad at myself, because I see it as a fan. I’m ticked off that the Chiefs are there. It bugs me. It doesn’t sit well with me,” said Johnson, now a sports talk show host on WEEI. “I think it’s human nature. And if you’re being honest, it doesn’t feel good to see another team accomplish what you’ve accomplished.
“I can appreciate greatness,” he went on. “I can look back and reflect on it. But right now, in the moment, it’s like errrrrrrrrr.”
As in wishing Patrick Mahomes comes down with food poisoning right before kickoff.
Vince Wilfork, who won two Super Bowls and spanned between the two decades excellence, was fine with the Chiefs winning one minute, not so fine the next. He sees both sides of the narrative.
“I definitely understand, ‘I’m a Patriot. I don’t want you to do something we didn’t do. Even though we got six of them. I don’t want you to do a three-peat.’ I get that,” Wilfork told MassLive when asked about all the angst in New England. “But at the same time, I like seeing history with organizations I respect. And I respect Kansas City. I love Andy Reid. I love what he’s doing over there. I love the defensive coordinator, (Steve) Spagnoulo. He beat me twice with the Giants.
“And, they’re great people. So if they were to do it, I wouldn’t be as mad. Now, if it was the Giants, we’d have a problem.”
The Giants ruined the Patriots perfect season in 2008, taking them down in the Super Bowl, and then beat Bill Belichick & Co. three years later in another championship bout. Those losses don’t sit well with Wilfork, even with two rings in hand. The Giants foiling the Patriots bid for football immortality was especially painful. So if it was New York going for a three-peat, instead of Kansas City, Wilfork said he’d join Patriots fans and get the voodoo dolls out.
But the more the conversation went on, Wilfork’s true colors came out. All of the Patriots vs. Chiefs comparisons thrown on the table the past few weeks given KC’s quest, be it Tom Brady vs. Patrick Mahomes or Bill Belichick vs. Reid, led to the Patriots Hall of Fame nose tackle to respond with a sarcastic: “Seriously?”
Wilfork was so aggravated by all of the who’s better talk, he finally put his foot down.
“Look, I don’t care if you win three in a row. When you get to six, we can talk then,” Wilfork said, his voice raising ever so slightly. “They got a ways to go. If they win it, they still have to catch up. The same applies with Brady and Mahomes. Call me when he hits seven.”
James White, a three-time ring winner who played a key role in the Patriots improbable comeback from 28-3 down to the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, was somewhat ambivalent on the subject. But like Wilfork, when pushed, showed exactly which side of the fence he sat on.
“For me, I don’t necessarily care if they win … history and records are made to be broken,” said White, now a college football analyst and co-host on Sirius XM’s, The Opening Drive. “But look, even if they win, the Patriot Way of doing things, the 20 years of success which is extremely hard (to accomplish), I don’t think that’ll ever be overshadowed.
“The Chiefs would be put in a category of their own with a three-peat, but to sustain success for 20 years … you see how hard it is across the league for teams to sustain success. I don’t think it’ll completely eliminate what the Patriots organization accomplished. They still got some more to win.”
Several players referenced how they came to be a hated team over time because of winning so much, and always being in the Super Bowl. The same fan fatigue exists for the Chiefs.
But, some differences exist between the two clubs. The Patriots basically went from America’s darlings, the little-engine-that could underdog who upset the St. Louis Rams and the Greatest Show on Turf, to the most reviled team on the planet six Lombardi trophies and several cheating scandals later.
Thus far, the Chiefs run has been scandal-free. Hatred for them hasn’t been as deep-seated as it was for the Patriots. Just consider the head coaches. Belichick was often compared with Darth Vader, the head of the evil empire.
Reid?
He’s Santa Claus.
On a recent episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast, Tom Brady offered his thoughts on what a Chiefs win would mean. His answer didn’t exactly align with Patriots fans.
He came across as empathetic, saying he roots for excellence, so he has no problem with a three-peat.
“I will say if the Chiefs win, I will be very happy for them,” Brady said. “I mean, what they’ve achieved is unmatched.
“And I think that’s cool because people always hated on us for so many years,” he went on. “And I didn’t understand it because all I did was like — we try to do things the right way, we try to go out there and compete for our job and win.”
Cornerback Jonathan Jones, who was part of two championship teams, sounded a bit like his former quarterback.
“It doesn’t bother me. I’ve been interested to see their run, just to see how they’ve been able to win, and consistently win,” Jones said. “It’s hard to win in this league. So, that’s admiration, from my standpoint.
“How they’ve been able to do it year in and year out. But at the same time, I’m a little jealous. Wish it was me instead of them. I’m hoping we can get back to being in the championship game.”
Former Patriots center Dan Koppen, another two-time champ, understands the sentiment of the fans. But he doesn’t begrudge the Chiefs for where they’re headed.
“Our time is done,” said Koppen, who was recently named head football coach at La Salle Academy. “I think it’s great for our fans (to be engaged against the Chiefs). I think it shows their passion and loyalty to us. It’s always been that way. We appreciated everything they did for us, and still do … but as players, I find it hard to root against somebody just because they’re winning or going for a record, or trying to attain something that’s never been done. That’s why you play the game.
“As an athlete I can appreciate what they put into it and how hard it is to get back to that game, even for a third time. And to go into there and maybe win it, good for them. They deserve it if they do that. But it won’t take away from what New England was able to do for two decades.”
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