It’s a ‘humbling experience’ to play against Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ... in pingpong
Since quarterback Patrick Mahomes joined the Chiefs in 2017, videos have surfaced from time to time of him playing baseball, golf and, yep, basketball in that viral video.
That all-around athletic ability is why Mahomes is the focus of a Bleacher Report story with the headline, “The Legend of Patrick Mahomes.” It chronicles Mahomes’ abilities in those sports, as well as activities like axe throwing and pingpong.
Yeah, table tennis.
Mahomes’ godfather, LaTroy Hawkins, told a story of Mahomes’ pingpong skills. Hawkins, the former Minnesota Twins pitcher who was teammates with Mahomes’ father, recalled a time Mahomes visited Hawkins’ home outside of Dallas.
Here is part of the Hawkins’ tale from Bleacher Report’s Tyler Dunne:
“We were sitting there watching TV and I said, ‘Hey, you play pingpong?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I play a little bit. I’m OK.’ When I got to the table, he released the beast.
“He can handle anything you throw back to him. Reflexes. Hand-eye coordination. It’s pretty damn impressive. I’ve seen some really good pingpong players. … I put him up there with like LaMonte Wade Jr., a kid who plays for the Twins right now — his mom plays competitive pingpong and he’s a really good pingpong player. I put Patrick up there with him.
“He could finesse you, and he could just bully you on the table. Slamming and serving like 10 feet away from the damn table. Making the ball curve. It’s a humble experience playing against him.”
Sounds intense, right?
Here is a link to the story which has more of Mahomes’ exploits, including more on his pingpong skills, and videos of him playing other sports.
