January 27th, 2025

Having watched the Kansas City Chiefs slay the Buffalo Bills for the fifth time in seven post-season matchups, I couldn’t help but marvel at how this latest NFL dynasty finds ways to win such clutch contests. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have been formidable in wresting control of the championship dominance that defined the historic run of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick over nearly two decades.

Making seven consecutive AFC Championship Game appearances and winning three of four Super Bowls (losing only to Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers) since 2018 is astonishing. On February 9, Mahomes will play in his fifth Super Bowl in the past six years and is one of just five NFL quarterbacks to win three or more Super Bowls as a starter, and he’s now on the precipice of a “threepeat,” which has never been done before in professional football. He’s also off to the best start ever among elite QBs as he edges closer to legitimately being in the GOAT (greatest of all time) conversation.

But like Brady and Belichick before them, Mahomes and Reid have found that most fans have grown tired of their gridiron magic. Americans love to build up and then tear down excellence in professional sports (and all businesses, for that matter). We’re fatigued and bored by repeat winners, preferring underdogs or great comeback stories. We want fresh faces – other great athletes like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow or Jalen Hurts taking turns holding the Vince Lombardi trophy. That’s understandable.

What concerns me is how our culture is changing in ways that reflect a downward spiral across society. The United States is a meritocracy – the envy of the world. People have long risked their lives to cross our border and become American citizens. We’re supposed to celebrate and reward champions. While we may root against them out of boredom if nothing else, too many of us abandon or turn on the champs.

Our professional sports leagues are designed to promote parity in draft picks and salary caps. In recent years, we’ve seen an expansion in wildcard slots being added to the playoff mix in hopes of sustaining fan support beyond the regular season. We’ve also seen far too many teams purposely lose in order to secure higher draft picks, as well as load management (primarily in the NBA) and dainty performances in all-star games to reduce the risk of injury.
Look no further than every kid on their t-ball team receiving a trophy for participation lest we offend them, or God forbid, their parents. This has been brewing for generations. The result is coddled kids and helicopter parents die casting a kinder and gentler culture that apologizes for winning and waters down achievement.

Sports radio and social media are full of folks complaining about Mahomes and Reid making it to yet another Super Bowl. Others collectively roll their eyes at TV cameras panning to Taylor Swift cheering on her beau, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, in a cushy Arrowhead Stadium skybox.

Why can’t more of us marvel at what this team has actually done? Why can’t more of us simply appreciate their hard work, clutch play and historic performances on the biggest stages? Why can’t we just admire and embrace a winning culture that more of us really need to emulate in our own lives and workplaces when you come right down to it?

American sportswriter Grantland Rice once said, “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Lombardi, who coached the Green Bay Packers, had a very different take: “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Irrespective of Super Bowl LIX’s outcome, I’m hoping that the real winner is a sea change in the culture that stops apologizing for subpar performance, bending backward to equalize the competition and re-learns how to celebrate greatness.