Patrick Mahomes hasn’t always enjoyed the best press in recent years, but he at least should be able to sympathize with the average NFL fan’s irritation with the recent hyperfixation on Taylor Swift.
In the wake of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl win on Sunday, the Chiefs’ quarterback was interviewed by CNN’s Abby Phillip on Monday, fielding questions mostly related to the pop superstar instead of the highlight of his season (i.e., winning the Super Bowl).
As seen in this clip of the interview shared by the X account Awful Announcing, Phillip asked Mahomes about the viral conspiracy theories regarding Swift, her romance with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, President Joe Biden’s re-election plans and the outcome of the Super Bowl.
“You might be aware … there were some wild conspiracy theories that were flying around … that this was all scripted for politics,” she said.
CNN’s Abby Phillip asks Patrick Mahomes to comment on the conspiracies that his Super Bowl victory was rigged to benefit Joe Biden pic.twitter.com/aiVkybUFAF
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 13, 2024
Then, after this lengthy preamble, Phillip finally asked Mahomes, “What do you make of just how this has spiraled, not just to football, but to politics and all these different areas?”
Mahomes, to his credit, didn’t betray any kind of irritation or annoyance with her question, despite that topic being the only thing people seem to want to talk about when it comes to football.
Instead, he answered, “It’s been wild to see, and I just try to focus in on football as much as possible. But, there’s always some conspiracy theories out there, and I just try to enjoy football and my family, and I stay off social media as much as possible.”
Do you think the focus of the NFL should be football?
A good strategy, even a “wise” one, as Phillip said, for both his personal sanity and his football career.
And clearly, judging by the comments responding to the video, most football fans feel the same way, with one user calling the interview “embarrassing,” and another writing that “there is a reason why CNN’s ratings suck.”
Embarrassing.
— Grant Hinkle (@GrantHinkle) February 13, 2024
there is a reason why CNN’s ratings suck
— Louis (@jvs929) February 13, 2024
Other users stuck up for Mahomes.
“He just won a championship @abbydphillip. Don’t ask him these kind of questions,” one wrote.
“Perfect answer by 15!” wrote another.
He just won a championship @abbydphillip. Don’t ask him these kind of questions
— JT (@jmoss16) February 13, 2024
Perfect answer by 15!
— Kelly Gentry (@Kgentry23) February 13, 2024
The truth is that most football fans, and fans of Mahomes in particular, are beyond tired of hearing about the Swift-Kelce drama when all they want to do is enjoy their football.
Besides, Mahomes has plenty of his own troubles to deal with when it comes to his public image.
Not only has Mahomes been dominant in the NFL for years now, and often considered something of a villain among fans of other teams, but he has a family many fans dislike.
In fact, his wife, Brittany, with her questionable social media activity and off-the-field antics, and his possibly criminal brother Jackson, were formerly the two most hated people in the NFL. (And then there’s his father’s headline-grabbing misbehavior.)
Mahomes bypassing the internet drama to focus on football was absolutely the right move.
Regardless of whether any of the antipathy directed toward him and his family is justified, the point is Mahomes has had to deal with a lot from the public, and he more than anyone would know how much that drama distracts from actually enjoying the sport.
Something he and his fans can find common ground with is that the focus of football should be the football — not the petty drama in the personal lives of the players.
At the end of the day, Mahomes just wants to enjoy football, and so do the rest of his fans.
