The Kansas City Chiefs visited the White House on Monday to celebrate their Super Bowl LVII championship. As part of the afternoon, the Chiefs received a tour of the historic presidential residence, were treated to a meal and participated in a ceremony with President Biden. The team presented Biden with a custom Chiefs jersey numbered “46” and with his name on the back, and created a viral moment when tight end Travis Kelce attempted to take the podium only to be shoved aside by quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs did not get to visit the White House when the team won Super Bowl LIV because of health and safety restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is safe to say the team made the most of the moment. It also gave the Chiefs time in the national media spotlight, which has been plentiful over the years, but perhaps garnered more respect from critics.
Bob Fescoe of 610 Sports Radio Kansas City recognized how the Chiefs were essentially counted out when the team traded star wide receiver Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins, but still won the Super Bowl. He feels the sentiment was being pushed by national media outlets in order to benefit business strategy and collect the highest ratings possible.
“Having the same team over and over again – unless it’s a New York-based team or a New England-based team – doesn’t do much for ESPN,” Fescoe said. “It just doesn’t do much for that network when it’s not a team that’s in the Northeast. They’re trying to push their narrative that the Kansas City Chiefs can be upset because they believe it’s probably better for business to have it happen that way, at least that’s the way I perceive it.”
The Chiefs have posted a winning record for the last decade and recently had its winningest season in franchise history, culminating in the Super Bowl championship. Now as the team prepares for another year of football, Fescoe and partner Josh Klingler are taking notice of those commentators continuing to count them out. However, there has been a change in the aggregate disposition concordant with the bonafide dynasty.
“As long as Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are running the show here in Kansas City, they’re going to have an opportunity to compete and contend for a Super Bowl,” Fescoe expressed. “I think acceptance is now starting to come around from the folks inside Bristol and some of the other national networks.”
Show co-host Josh Klingler found it notable that national shows were talking about the Chiefs as legitimate Super Bowl contenders with a chance to win three championships in a four-year span. The widespread recognition of the Chiefs as a talented football team and frontrunners to win the championship has ostensibly been a long time coming in the eyes of Kansas City sports fans.
Even so, there is still rhetoric pertaining to the Los Angeles Chargers and how if certain things had happened, the outcome of last season would have been drastically altered. Dan Orlovsky elocuted such remarks recently on ESPN, much to the chagrin of the morning drive show.
“He’s just out there throwing darts, man,” Fescoe said of Orlovsky.
