Being on the inside of the Chiefs Kingdom fanbase gives a very interesting perspective on how the rest of the league views the Kansas City Chiefs. A once poor to slightly average team, the Chiefs have earned some serious disdain from the rest of the NFL. The beginning of this outside perspective of the Chiefs began in 2013.
The Comeback-Franchise: Andy Reid and Alex Smith Join the Chiefs
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The Kansas City Chiefs in 2013 acquired Alex Smith for the 34th overall pick of that draft. Andy Reid had been brought on as the head coach for that season as well, and things quickly turned around. The Chiefs went from 2-14 in 2012 to 11-5 in 2013. Somehow the fortune of the Kansas City franchise seemed ready to turn for the better.
Alex Smith was successful with the Chiefs to a fault, where a comfortable system that allowed him to do just enough helped him earn Smith three Pro Bowl appearances. After all, a team that was previously at the bottom pit of the NFL suddenly had a solidified starter in Smith.
Although making the playoffs was exciting, Chiefs Kingdom quickly grew stale of being bounced early in the postseason. Chief’s fans will remember the playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts in 2013 to this day. Followed up by the Chiefs beating the Texans in the wild card round in 2015 only to come up short against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Another playoff loss to the Steelers at home in 2016 was to follow. To top it all off, the 2017 playoff failure against the Tennessee Titans was the last straw. After 2017 Alex Smith would no longer be a Kansas City Chief.
The Chosen One: Patrick Mahomes Fulfills the Kansas City Prophecy
Everybody knows who the man pictured above is. Patrick Mahomes was drafted to be the messiah for the Kansas City Chiefs. A ridiculous cannon for an arm and an ability to dazzle down at Texas Tech, Mahomes was everything that Alex Smith wasn’t and more. The Chiefs as well as the rest of the league quickly noticed this when Mahomes was named the official starter in 2018.
5,000+ yards, 50 touchdowns and the NFL MVP award in your first season in the NFL isn’t half bad. Although that may seem like the perfect Madden storyline, it was a reality for Mahomes in 2018. The Kansas City Chiefs had drafted correctly for once, and the franchise quickly became amongst the elites.
Success Comes With a Price: How the Chiefs are Viewed in 2022
The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in franchise history in 2019. Everything about the come up of the Chiefs was special. Everything that has happened since Mahomes was drafted couldn’t have gone any better. In the grand scope of the franchise history of the Chiefs this era is already beginning to be penciled in as one of the greatest.
However, jealousy is a contagious disease. The NFL has quickly come to dislike the Chiefs and its fanbase. A once quiet and meek franchise turned into the loudest seemingly overnight. A franchise that now has legitimate claims to being one of the best today.
Chiefs fans will surely take the criticism and hate though. Being successful is far better than being the laughing stock of the NFL. Hopefully non-Chiefs fans will appreciate what a franchise can do in a decade to turn things around.
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