Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ competitive fire burns hot off the football field, too
Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy made headlines over the weekend for calling quarterback Patrick Mahomes “a competitive prick.”
This wasn’t a snide remark from Bieniemy, but more of an insight into what makes Mahomes tick.
Mahomes has a competitive streak that extends beyond the football field. He wants to win at everything. Here are five examples of his will to win away from the football field.
Video games
During a tour of Treyarch, the developer that created the “Call of Duty” series, Mahomes talked about why he loves video games.
“It’s the competition,” Mahomes told the Los Angeles Times. “You have to really work to get good at it. When you’re a competitor and play sports, you’re competing every single day, and when you play against each other in ‘Call of Duty’ or any other game you want to show that you’re the best at whatever you do so you compete and try to win as much as possible.”
This tweet about Mahomes from early in 2018 turned out to be prophetic:
Stationary bike
In an interview last month with GQ magazine, Mahomes talked about how his desire to win carries over to a Peloton.
“I’m so damn competitive that I kill myself,” Mahomes told GQ. “I see the leader board, and I see that, like, Brian from North Carolina is catching me, and I’m like: ‘There’s no way.’”
Poor Brian.
Golf
Mahomes likely wasn’t happy with how he played at the American Century Golf Championship last month (tied for 38th), but this putt showed his competitive desire:
As the announcer said, Mahomes reacted as if he had thrown a touchdown pass in the Super Bowl.
Axe-throwing
In a Bleacher Report story last year, author Tyler Dunne spoke with people who have known Mahomes before he came to the Chiefs. Those recounted incredible Mahomes stories of him playing pingpong and whiffle ball.
Then there was this axe-throwing story that shows Mahomes’ competitive fire.
“In Nashville, we did this axe-throwing thing,” Mahomes’ friend Coleman Patterson told Dunne. “It’s a big bull’s-eye. A piece of wood. He lost the first game, and you could tell he got so upset. He didn’t lose another one. … He came back and won the whole thing and got a little trophy. It’s like him rookie year versus the Broncos: We’ve got to go down and score. I’m going to have to lead our team to victory. He puts this serious mode on, where, Boom, ‘ know what I have to do and I will do it no matter what. Because I know I can do it.’ It’s that focus.”
One can’t help but wonder if Mahomes still has that trophy.
Party games
Two years ago, Tyreek Hill played host to a Halloween party for his Chiefs teammates and one of the games involved a rapid reply.
Someone said types of shoes and when it got to Mahomes, he appeared to say e-didas instead of Adidas. The group said the answer didn’t count but Mahomes pleaded his case for quite a while but it was to no avail. Finally someone shouted out, “Sit down Patrick.”
Clearly unhappy, Mahomes did take a seat but said, “That’s crazy.” Here’s a link to the video, but be aware there is quite a bit of cursing.
