Patrick Mahomes: Opposition to Texas Tech’s tortilla tradition is rooted in envy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Texas Tech bans tortilla tosses, confiscates items and revokes ticket privileges.
- Fans prompted to discard tortillas after penalties followed two unsportsmanlike calls.
- Patrick Mahomes frames ban as envy-driven reaction to Texas Tech’s recent success.
Texas Tech this week said it was ending the fan tradition of tossing tortillas on the field.
An Associated Press story said fans entering Jones AT&T Stadium would be told to throw away tortillas they brought or give them to stadium workers.
Athletic director Kirby Hocutt said fans seen throwing a tortilla would have their ticket privileges revoked for the rest of the academic year at all Tech sporting events, the AP story noted.
Texas Tech’s football team was penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct because fans hurled tortillas during a 42-17 win over Kansas earlier this month.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was bummed out by Tech’s decision.
“I’m sad to see that we’re not able to do it anymore. It’s just part of the tradition of Texas Tech,” Mahomes said during his weekly interview on 96.5 The Fan in Kansas City. “I don’t know how it became such a controversial thing, but the tortillas, I guess they got a little too scary for the opponents at the Red Raider stadium.”
It’s easy to detect the sarcasm from the Chiefs quarterback, right?
Show host Carrington Harrison said he couldn’t recall the tradition happening 20 years ago, but it was. During Tech’s 52-28 win over Missouri in 2002, the Red Raiders were penalized twice for throwing tortillas.
Tech coach Mike Leach told the Daily Oklahoman at the time: “I certainly hope the good Texas Tech fans will refrain from throwing tortillas for the sake of our football team. Nevertheless, at no level do I see where the Red Raider football team is responsible at all for any tortillas being thrown.”
Leach’s plea to fans wasn’t heeded, as the tradition persisted. But Mahomes believes he knows why there has been a tortilla outcry these days surrounding Tech, which is 6-1 and ranked 14th in the nation.
It’s rooted in envy.
“It’s been going on for like, 30-40 years. And there’s a couple of myths and stories about how it started, but it happened while I was there,” Mahomes said. “I’ve said to a couple people, man, no one cared about the tortillas when we weren’t winning. But now that we’re winning, everybody cares about them, so we had to stop them.
“But it’s one of the traditions I loved about Texas Tech, and how much the fans care, no matter what the score is, and want to be a part of it. But they’ll find another way now to show their support, and I just know that they’ll be there for us week in and week out, and I’m excited for the rest of the season.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2025 at 10:08 AM.
