▲ The little ones also participate excitedly in each meeting. Photo @chiefsmexico
Leonardo Mena Gil
La Jornada Newspaper
Tuesday, February 6, 2024, p. a10
The Kansas City Chiefs climbed to the top 10 of the most popular hobbies in Mexico, according to a study done last year by the NFL. Thousands of fans followed Patrick Mahomes on his path to success starting with the first Super Bowl he won in 2020, a season in which the quarterback also played at Azteca Stadium, on November 18, 2019, in the Monday Night.
I do see a very important rise as a result of Mahomes. Before you couldn’t get a simple sweater. Now there are a good number of products and a lot of marketing around the team, says Paco, a supporter of the Jefes and member of the fan club that meets every weekend in the south of Mexico City to watch the games.
It is a similar case to what happened to Tom Brady with the Patriots. With the six championship rings he won, he entered New England on the list of the five most famous teams in Mexico. He put them on par with institutions with tradition such as Dallas, Pittsburgh, Green Bay or San Francisco, franchises that to date have not been champions for more than a decade.
Although there is suspicion among old fans because they think we choose based on popularity, growth is part of the phenomenon. I don’t see any harm in people continuing to integrate. In the end, we have to identify with something, just as New England fans did.
A new dynasty
But as often happens, there is a certain fatigue with the fashion team. What was once an underdog franchise that hadn’t won a title in 50 years has begun to saturate the market.
“I don’t want to sound like the Americanists with their ‘hate me more’ phrase, but it’s the same feeling that the Chiefs are fueling with so much hate they throw at them, and that also makes us more famous,” says Yadira, another fervent fan.
A year ago when the Chiefs won their third championship ring, Patrick promised the birth of a dynasty. We’re not done yet, he points out.
The last reign in the NFL was Brady’s. The question is whether Patrick will have enough time to get over it. Although he is far from Tom’s seven titles (six with the Patriots and one with the Buccaneers), the one in Texas has the advantage of his young age. At 28 years old, he is in search of his third championship on Sunday.
In five years we will have three more Super Bowls, says Yadi. However, he goes further and asks himself what if Pat wasn’t on the team?, at the same time he measures what Mahomes means to the franchise. Although it takes him a while to imagine it, he finally answers.
“The team would not be where it is today. Maybe they would come to playoffs, and until there. It is a fact that having it gives us a lot of security as fans. In the end, his leadership is one of those things that matters the most on the field. “It is the great exponent of the current era,” he analyzes.
After pondering Mahomes’ talent, he brings to the table another issue that he also enjoys talking about, the romance of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce and what the singer’s fans have unleashed. According to information from blog The Muffin, one day after attending the Kansas and Chicago game, the player gained 300 thousand followers on his social networks. Sales of his jerseys went up 400 percent.
“What I don’t like about swifties It’s just that they swear that Taylor made her boyfriend famous, and that’s not true. Those of us who are immersed know that Kelce is a great athlete and the best tight end in the NFL.
I don’t like the hate they throw, just that. I like that women are getting involved in a sport that is more frequented by men. If they are amateurs, welcome, if it’s for gossip, I don’t like it, finish.
Like the teams of yesteryear, the Chiefs have combined the zeitgeist and success to grow their fans from their city to Hollywood, and even outside the United States, as they currently do in Mexico.
2024-02-06 08:35:03
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