So, the Kansas City Chiefs have won yet another Super Bowl. That makes back-to-back Super Bowl trophies, and three trophies in the past five years! Very impressive, no doubt, but will this bring on the haters? Is it possible that the Chiefs become a more hated team than my beloved Dallas Cowboys in the 2024-2025 season?
 
When the Chiefs won their Super Bowl vs the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 54 (2020), everybody was perfectly fine with that. The Chiefs had a calm and cool, seemingly humble quarterback, in Patrick Mahomes, and the franchise was on a Super Bowl draught of 50 YEARS! How can you not root for a team that has not won a Super Bowl in 50 years? Especially when they are playing a team like the 49ers that has FIVE Super Bowl trophies, already. Fans, in general, were more than pleased to see the Chiefs win this game.
 
Last year, in Super Bowl 57 vs the Philadelphia Eagles, the Chiefs won their second Super Bowl in four seasons. You would think winning two Super Bowls in such a short time may bring on some haters, but the team they beat presumably even had even more haters. Eagles’ fans are often referred to as the most obnoxious and unlikable fans in the NFL. On top of that, their head coach, Nick Sirianni, cruised through the season with a very cocky and arrogant attitude, filled with sarcastic smiles and gestures on the sidelines and post-game interviews, which caused Eagle haters to hate the Eagles even more! Furthermore, many fans were getting frustrated with Philadelphia’s rugby-type “Tush Push” play that seemed be unstoppable on short yardage plays. Some even said the play should be illegal. The Eagles had more than their average share of enemies in the 2022-2023 season, so the average NFL fan did not have too much of a problem seeing the Chiefs win their second Super Bowl in a 4-year span.
 
Fast forward to the 2023-2024 season, and Super Bowl 58! As we all know, they won this game against the 49ers to make it a successful back-to-back championship campaign. But were the cheers for the Chiefs in Super Bowl 58 as loud as they were in Super Bowl 54 and Super Bowl 57? I think many of us agree they were not. Even with numerous “Swifties” joining the Chief’s bandwagon because of Taylor Swift’s romance with Travis Kelce, the haters seemed to be steadily growing.
 
As the Chiefs enter the new season, there are many things that will ignite the haters:
 
-1. They won three Super Bowls in five years. Enough is enough. Everybody gets sick of teams that win too much! Just ask the Dallas Cowboys of the early/mid 90’s or the New York Yankees of the late 90’s.
 
-2. Patrick Mahomes: Overall, he seems very likeable, however, he did have one big blemish during the regular season. He showed a side we had never seen before. In the infamous “offensive offsides” game where their game-winning touchdown was reversed by a penalty, Mahomes made a clown of himself. He looked like nothing more than a sore loser as the Chiefs wound up losing this game against the Buffalo Bills. Sure, it was a ticky tack call, but the video footage clearly shows that the wide receiver was lined up an entire FOOT offsides. Not inches. A FOOT! He shouted at the referees and then doubled down in the post-game press conference by continuing to cry about a call that was CLEARLY correct. He looked like a spoiled brat who didn’t get his way. Not many people were taking his side on this one. Ever since this game, many have looked at Mahomes just a bit differently.
 
-3. Travis Kelce: Sure, we all love a football player with passion, but he seemed to get more and more over the top as the season went along. Perhaps he was trying to show off for his new girlfriend and the Swifties? I’m not sure, but his loud antics and numerous moments of “trying too hard to be exciting” have become old among non-Chiefs fan. To make matters worse, he was seen by all viewers of the Super Bowl when he blatantly bumped his own head coach, Andy Reid, because he was upset he was not on the field during one of the offensive plays. It was 100% immature and disrespectful. He looked like a huge ass by doing this. He looked like an even huger ass by not immediately apologizing for it. In the post-game interviews, he laughed it off and basically stated he was just showing his passion for the game. Yeah, ok, Travis. You were an idiot. That bump on his head coach was likely the final dagger for anybody on the fence about liking/disliking Kelce.
 
-4. Taylor Swift: You really cannot blame Taylor for doing anything wrong. She is simply going to the games to support her boyfriend. As innocent as she may be, though, many long-time NFL fans have grown tired of seeing her face displayed on the cameras over and over and over again. They came to watch FOOTBALL. They are more interested in watching the game. They have no interest in watching a pop star celebrity cheering in an expensive press box every week. They just want to watch football and have grown tired of hearing about the Swift-Kelce romance during games.
 
So, we just covered four things that could cause the haters to revolt against the Kansas City Chiefs in the upcoming season. Will the hate be higher than the current hate displayed for the Dallas Cowboys? I mean, come on, do the Cowboys have any players that are very unlikable? Dak Prescott is as laid back and chill as they come (even when he throws interceptions). There is a bit of cockiness among CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, but they seem pretty tame and calm in comparison to Kelce.
 
Although, there is still this guy named JERRY JONES, probably one of the most unlikable owners in the NFL. Heck, he is even disliked by many Cowboys fans!
 
So here is the million-dollar question. If the Dallas Cowboys make next year’s Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs, then who will the non-Cowboys and non-Chiefs fans be rooting for? Who will they will be hating on more??
 
 
. . . yeah . . . I know . . . Dallas will probably still have more haters, but, hey, crazier things could happen!

#KansasCityChiefs #DallasCowboys #CowboysHaters #ChiefsHaters #TravisKelce #PatrickMahomes #DakPrescott #TaylorSwift #Swifties #JerryJones #NFL #BlogPhenom
 

In an earlier blog, I stated that the Dallas Cowboys' loss to the Green Bay Packers was their most embarrassing loss in their playoff history. Rightfully so, I didn’t receive much push-back on that statement. An individual then took it a step further and asked about the Dallas Cowboys’ most embarrassing PLAY in a playoff game. He then quickly followed up with the name of the Cowboys’ former Defensive Lineman, Leon Lett. The referenced play was in Super Bowl XXVII (Dallas vs. Buffalo), when Leon Lett scooped up a fumble late in the game and ran toward the end zone. He started to celebrate before he reached the end zone, giving the Bills’ Wide Receiver, Don Beebe, a chance to run him down and knock the ball out of his hands right before the ball reached the goal line. While embarrassing for Lett, it should be noted that the Cowboys were already leading the game by a score of 52-17, so this was meaningless and had no effect on the outcome of the game.

And, yes, Leon is most famous for this other blunder, which happened on Thanksgiving Day in 1993 against the Miami Dolphins. Miami was attempting a game-winning field goal at the end of the game, but it was blocked by Dallas. Everyone thought the game was over, except for Leon Lett, who ran after the ball as it innocently rolled toward the end zone. It was a dead ball as long as no Cowboy players touched it. It would have been game over if all Dallas players stayed away from the ball. Unfortunately, Leon Lett charged after it and tried to recover it, but mishandled it. Miami recovered Lett’s fumble and was given a second chance to kick a game-winning field goal. This time, the kicker did not miss and Miami ended up winning due to an absolutely bizarre ending. Keep in mind, though, that Dallas overcame this Thanksgiving embarrassment and eventually went on to win Super Bowl XXVIII, their second consecutive Lombardi Trophy!

So, yes, those are the two plays that MOST football fans think of when they hear “Leon Lett.”  This is extremely unfortunate and unfair. Any real and avid Cowboys fan will tell you that they LOVED Leon Lett and that he did a lot more good than bad! He was actually on the team during all three of their Super Bowl victories in the 90’s, complemented by two Pro-Bowl selections. 

Leon Lett’s TRUE LEGACY should be his performance in Super Bowl XXVIII, which took place a year after his botched fumble return in a blowout victory. Many fans were laughing at Leon’s expense after Thanksgiving, but Leon got the last laugh on this day. Many would argue that Leon Lett turned the game around and was the key reason Dallas went on to win this game, which was once again versus the Buffalo Bills.

Dallas got off to a very slow start in Super Bowl XXVIII and were actually trailing to Buffalo by a score of 13-6 at the end of the first half. Things were looking a bit rough for the Cowboys, and looking even rougher when the second half began. Buffalo quickly moved the ball near midfield on the first drive of the half and were looking like they were getting ready to drive down the field and put the Cowboys two scores down and gain very strong momentum. But then Leon Lett made his presence known! On a 1st and 10 play on their own 43-yard line, the Bills’ running back Thurman Thomas took a handoff and ran forward for a yard or two before Leon said hello.  Leon punched the ball out of Thomas’ hands. The ball then rolled on the ground briefly before being picked up by James Washington, who returned the fumble all the way for a game-tying touchdown!  Momentum changer, folks? Um, yea!!!

Leon Lett not only forced this huge and pivotal fumble, but he woke up the rest of the team. The offense later followed suit by running down the throats of the Bills’ defense with Emmitt Smith, who scored a touchdown just minutes after Lett’s forced fumble. They were now up 20-13. The Bills never recovered. The final score ended up being 30-13. 

LEON LETT WAS THE HERO OF THIS GAME! 

So, yes, the Dallas Cowboy haters can continue to mock Leon Lett for his two famous blunders, but all the real football fans know that this guy is a Super Bowl legend! If any Buffalo Bills fans laughed at him at the end of Super Bowl XXVII, they certainly didn’t at the end of Super Bowl XXVIII! Hearing the name of “Leon Lett” is almost as painful for Buffalo fans as the name “Scott Norwood” (Wide Right) is!

It’s a shame that many fans aren’t even aware of Lett’s heroics, but, heck, even if they were aware, it’s probably safe to assume that they would ignore it since the Cowboys are one of the most hated teams in the NFL! So keep laughing at him. Keep laughing at Leon as he sits back and looks at pictures of those THREE Super Bowl victories and trophies that he was a key part of.

​So, as a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan, I have been asked multiple times if the recent playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers was the most painful loss ever. It was certainly agonizing to watch them get beat to a pulp, but I would not rank it as the most painful playoff loss. I would, however, rank the game as the most EMBARRASSING playoff loss for the Dallas Cowboys!

Honestly, the loss would have been more tragic if Dallas was the heavy favorite to win the Super Bowl, but they were not. Not even close. I’m as loyal as they come, but even I have to admit that beating the Detroit Lions, and then beating the San Francisco 49ers at their home stadium, and THEN beating the AFC champion in the Super Bowl, would have been an extremely high task for Dallas. They had difficulties in beating quality opponents in the 2023 season. Though not impossible, the chances of beating quality, top-tier teams three consecutive weeks almost seemed unrealistic for Dallas.

So what was the most painful playoff loss for Dallas? Well, keep in mind that I was not a full-fledged NFL fan until around the year 1985, so I can’t include the game in which Dallas lost to the 49ers in the 1981 NFC championship, which is forever famous for “The Catch” by Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone to break Cowboys’ fans’ hearts.

During MY time of viewing Dallas (1985 to Present), I can easily say the most painful playoff loss was in 2007 against Eli Manning and the New York Giants. During the 2007 season, Tony Romo led Dallas to a 13-3 record and a #1 playoff seed. Keep in mind that one of those three losses was the last game of the regular season, taking place after Dallas had already clinched the #1 seed, so many starters were not playing that game that was essentially meaningless.

Romo was on fire that year! He became the first Cowboys quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards. Watching Romo, Terrell Owens, Marion Barber, Jason Witten, and all of the other talent on that team was a thing of beauty week after week! Dallas was undoubtedly a heavy favorite to go to the Super Bowl. It was already a foregone conclusion by many that Dallas would be there.

Dallas was a high-scoring team that had already beat the Giants two times during the regular season. There was no reason to think the result would be different in the divisional playoffs against New York, although some say the hardest thing to do in the NFL is to beat the same team in the NFL three times in the same season. Well, I guess that was proven to be correct!

As many Cowboys fans know, Dallas lost that game by a score of 21-17. To get eliminated early in the playoffs as a mid-tier favorite for the Super Bowl is difficult, but losing as a HEAVY FAVORITE is downright excruciating! Romo deserved a shot at the trophy and this was his arguably his best chance. This game gives me nightmares, especially certain plays that could have changed the game dramatically! 

Whenever I hear the name of Patrick Crayton (Wide Receiver), I automatically think of a play with about a minute left in the 3rd quarter of that game in which he DROPPED a perfectly thrown pass on a 3rd and 14 from deep in their own territory. It would have been at least a 30-yard gain, if not more. They then had to punt and give the Giants the ball back with good field position. Things went downhill after that. To make matters worse for Crayton, he missed another big opportunity when he randomly pulled up momentarily during a fade route to the end zone with just seconds left in the game. The throw ended up being overthrown, but likely only because Crayton slowed down! Should have been a touchdown! Thanks for the memories, Patrick!

So, yes, the Cowboys giving up 48 points to the Packers was hard to handle, but the 2007 playoff loss to the Giants will always be the most painful one for me!