Thirty years ago, many wanted to “Be Like Mike” in the middle of Michael Jordan leading the Chicago Bulls through a decade of NBA dominance with six championships in the 1990s.
As much as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes draws Michael Jordan comparisons, the three-time Super Bowl champion is stuck with one label Jordan rarely faced: the villain.
Mahomes isn’t concerned if everyone outside Kansas City is rooting against him and the Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles.
As Mahomes and the Chiefs seek a three-peat, the villain narrative has grown. That’s a far cry from Jordan and the Bulls’ popularity amid two three-peats except for times he led them to playoff wins over rivals in Cleveland, Detroit, and New York.
“We believe that we play with a lot of heart and a lot of passion for the game and then we win football games,” he added. “If winning football games makes you a villain, we’re gonna keep going out there and doing it.”
No team has ever won three straight Super Bowls, and the Chiefs’ shot at history has drawn more ire than awe in the general public. That said, the Chiefs could be around awhile to keep winning as the team seeks a fourth title with Mahomes since 2020.
While Mahomes is halfway to catching Jordan for the number of professional sports championships, Mahomes has four more to go in order to match former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Known as the GOAT for football, Brady won seven titles overall with the first six coming in New England and a seventh with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mahomes doesn’t want to get caught up in that narrative either.
“No, I’m just trying to be the greatest Patrick Mahomes that I can be,” he explained. “I mean, that’s obviously a goal of anyone’s, is to be the greatest at their profession, but in order to do that, you have to be the greatest that you can be every single day.”
“And if that’s on the field and the work ethic I put in or off the field in the father and husband that I am, I’m gonna try to be the greatest in that way,” Mahomes added. “And whenever I’m done with football, if I leave everything out there the way that I feel like I have so far, as far as effort and mentality, I‘ll be happy with the results and I’ll let others talk about who the greatest is of whatever profession that is.”
Mahomes also isn’t worried about how the Chiefs dynasty will compare to the Patriots’ dynasty of six Super Bowl wins in 18 years. The Patriots owned the 2000s and 2010s with nine Super Bowl appearances overall.
“I care more about the legacy of our team,” Mahomes said. “You know, we’ve put in so much work and worked so hard that I want to be remembered for the team that we are and the team that we built here in Kansas City.”
“I never really think about my legacy; I think about all the guys that I’ve played with and how they’ve kind of left their imprint on this team and I want us to be remembered for that,” he added.
Mahomes can relate to the dislike of the Chiefs outside the Kansas City fanbase. He admits he didn’t like the Patriots back in the day when he was growing up.
“It’s all fun because I was that guy. I was a Cowboys fan growing up, and I used to hate the Patriots,” Mahomes admitted. “I think more than anything, I appreciate the greatness of the Patriots more now when I see how hard it was to do what they did.”
“But we just go out there and play the game that we love, the way that we feel like is the right way and all the other stuff is kind of outside noise,” he added. “Hopefully we’re just giving people a great product to watch, and they can see the love for the game that we have.”
