For Pete's Sake

Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes on trip to the Cotton Bowl and hearing boos from fans there

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes doesn’t often hear boos when he’s not playing, but that was the case Friday at the Cotton Bowl.

Mahomes and a few Chiefs teammates joined Cincinnati alum Travis Kelce at the game, which was the first College Football Playoff semifinal. The Bearcats lost 27-6 to top-ranked Alabama, and television cameras caught a glimpse of the cadre of Chiefs players.

During his weekly radio appearance on KCSP (610 AM), Mahomes was asked who was the biggest star among the Chiefs players at the game.

“Oh, 100% It was Trav,” Mahomes said. “I think they were booing me on the screen until Trav came on there. So he’s definitely the star whenever it comes to the Cincinnati Bearcats.”

Mahomes was first shown on the video board at AT&T Stadium, and made a wise decision when the first boos were directed at him. Mahomes motioned for Kelce to join him in the shot.

Those boos immediately turned to cheers and not just because Mahomes put receiver Gehrig Dieter, who was wearing a Bama cap, in a playful headlock. Kelce, wearing a Bearcats jacket and hat, did his best to fire up the Cincinnati fans.

It was a fun moment, but Mahomes was asked why he heard booing. Was there a beef with Cincinnati?

“I don’t know, I think it was that, plus we were in the Cowboys’ stadium,” Mahomes said. “So I’m sure there was a couple of fans that aren’t too big of Chiefs fans but not for Travis. They were big fans of his.”

There is no doubt that was the case.

This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 11:33 AM.

Pete Grathoff
The Kansas City Star
From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete Grathoff has done a little bit of everything since joining The Kansas City Star in 1997.
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