On occasion of 25th birthday, 25 reasons Kansas City can appreciate Patrick Mahomes

Safe to say Sept. 17 has made for a substantial date in American history. In 1787, the Constitution of the United States of America was signed in Philadelphia. In 1858, former slave Dred Scott died in St. Louis with a legacy of a decade-long fight for freedom that, as History.com puts it, “gave momentum to the anti-slavery movement and served as a stepping stone to the Civil War.” And what would become known as the NFL was born on Sept. 17, 1920, in Canton, Ohio.

Not so profoundly but closer to home, the international sensation that was The Beatles arrived in Kansas City on Sept. 17, 1964, opening their show at Municipal Stadium with the Little Richard medley of “Kansas City/Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey!”

“Things got out of control as many fans swarmed the stage,” according to “The Beatles Ultimate Experience” website. “Security officers found it necessary to stop the show. The Beatles waited backstage as the crowd was warned that the concert could not resume until they sat back down in their seats. Once the rush of maniacal fans was no longer a safety issue, the show was able to continue.”

Then there was the less-conspicuous arrival on Sept. 17, 1995, 25 years ago Thursday, of what has become a phenomenon akin to Beatle-mania here … except it will play on for years and years to come.

That’s when Patrick Lavon Mahomes II was born in Tyler, Texas, the son of Randi and Pat, then a professional baseball player with the Minnesota Twins.

At the time, the Chiefs were a generation removed from their last Super Bowl appearance, the 23-7 victory over Minnesota that came eight months before Mahomes’ father was born.

That 1995 season, they’d suffer their third straight playoff defeat amid a streak of futility that extended to eight before it finally ended two decades later — and at last was purged in February with Mahomes leading the team to a 31-20 win over San Francisco in Super Bowl LIV.

Along the way, he’s arguably become the face of the NFL and Kansas City and achieved such celebrity status as to induce a frenzy that makes him the rare Kansas City athlete who would be swarmed here.

(If he were ever out during the pandemic, that is).

But part of what makes this so special is that Mahomes somehow seems unfazed by the expectations of so much more ahead and unspoiled by the adulation … which serves to make him more appealing.

Immortal as his game might already seem, as demonstrated about every time he plays and by the NFL MVP in his first full season as a starter in 2018 and Super Bowl MVP in February, it actually bears clarification that he’s human and fallible.

For that matter, he has detractors. Some were dismayed by what might be called his conspicuous consumption during the post-Super Bowl parade. Some resent his $500 million, 10-year contract extension. Others dislike seeing him address racial injustice.

Others of us reckon a then-24-year-old’s enjoyment of a once-in-a-half-century event that wouldn’t have occurred without him was understandable enough … and that he deserves every bit he can get from the Chiefs … and admire the conscience compelling him to take important stands.

In that spirit, to commemorate his 25th birthday here are 25 reasons for Kansas City to appreciate Mahomes:

1. First of all, he is mesmerizing, with his array of skills and potential to create a touchdown any time and rally the team from seemingly any predicament.
2. But transcendent talent that he is, he stays grounded and remains true to where he comes from — as might be inferred to his ongoing loyalty to high school friends and recent engagement to longtime girlfriend Brittany Matthews.
3. At the same time, he’s emphatically planted his flag in Kansas City, often saying he wants to spend his career here and even before stardom endearing himself to the community by enmeshing himself in it. Yet another case in point: wearing a Kansas City Monarchs jersey to and from the opener.
4. He’s resourceful, as you can frequently see in his adjustments and escape acts on the field.
5. He’s innovative, with the ability to see and execute concepts and opportunities that few could discern, let alone make happen. That makes him much less the gambler some perceive him to be than he is a person with uncanny awareness and perception … and the arm to deliver.
6. He exudes confidence but seldom, if ever, cockiness, an important distinction in leadership. And, for that matter, in a willing role model.
7. He understands, and conveys that he understands, he’s part of a team. He knows he’s ultimately only as good as what’s around him, from his offensive line to the backfield to superstar targets like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to the defense and, of course, to his synergistic collaborative relationship with coach Andy Reid.
8. He is accountable to a fault, publicly owning up to his mistakes and often seeming to accept blame when it may have been elsewhere. Some of his most elaborate answers after a game are about what he did wrong.
9. He is rugged, as you can see about any time he gets hit and gets back up and as nicely encapsulated in his 27-yard touchdown run against Tennessee in the AFC Championship Game.
10. He is resilient, apparently enough so to be able to regenerate limbs: Who didn’t fear the worst when he went down with a knee injury at Denver last season? Even after he ultimately limped off, who didn’t suspect he would be out for months with the patellar dislocation?
11. He is indomitable, a mindset that proved crucial both in his own performances and those of others in the run to the Super Bowl made possible by three rallies from double-digits down — including 24-0 in the first half against Houston and 20-10 in the middle of the fourth quarter against the 49ers.
12. He is committed to making the most of his considerable talent, so much so that no one needs to fear he’ll grow complacent. That’s how it’s been all his life, as we wrote about a few weeks ago, and his work ethic has only intensified with his increased success.
13. He is reliably upbeat, in part because he knows how his approach sets a tone: “He keeps practice alive, challenges the defense, and really makes everyone around him better just by his attitude and how he goes about it,” Reid said recently.
14. He is appreciative. Of everything along the way, it seems: his family, his teammates, Texas Tech, Reid, Clark Hunt, Brett Veach, Kansas City, Alex Smith.
15. He is polite, something you might see in every exchange he has with the media. I can’t swear he still says, “yeah,” before answering every question, but he sure seems to do it most of the time. And I believe it’s telling of an engaging, inviting and winning way.
16. He is patient, perhaps even in an entirely new way, as The Star’s Sam McDowell explored earlier this week in a story about Mahomes’ discipline and restraint against the Texans.
17. He’s generous, as can easily be seen in the ongoing efforts of his “15 and the Mahomies Foundation” whose efforts are hard to keep up with.
18. He’s considerate, at heart still the guy his seventh-grade English teacher Dee Landers said was always good to have walk in the room because he’d smile and acknowledge everybody.
19. He’s empathetic, as longtime trainer Bobby Stroupe pointed out with an example of Mahomes’ tearing up with a Chiefs fan in Dallas. The fan was crying as he told Mahomes of how Mahomes had kept his spirit alive while he was losing several close relatives in the past year. “He’s thoughtful about, ‘What are other people experiencing in this moment that I’m here, and how can I affect that?’” Stroupe said during a visit to Texas last year.
20. He retains a fan’s perspective, evident with his social media commentary on many sports and his frequent travels to see major sporting events.
21. Serious as he might be about his work, he’s still got a sense of humor and reassuring goofiness about him. That was on fine display in his antics with Kelce at the American Century Classic celebrity golf tournament, for instance. And the other day with his mask on before a Zoom call, he had some fun pretending not to be able to hear before he spoke up.
22. Speaking of speaking up, I still find Mahomes’ unique gravelly twang a compelling part of his persona. And I’d still sure like to hear Reid’s “froggish” imitation of him.
23. Mahomes carries the courage of his convictions, visibly advocating to get out the vote and for reform even knowing some of the fan base doesn’t want to hear it. “I’m going to do whatever I can to fight for equality for all people …,” he said recently. “I’m going to continue that fight, and I’m not worried about people and how they’re going to do negative stuff back to me. I’m worried about doing what’s right for humanity and making sure that all people feel equal.”
24. For all of these reasons and more, he resounds as authentic, something that seems in short supply these days.
25. Finally, he is a symbol of hope. On the field, where the Chiefs may run out of time but never faith any more. And off the field, too, where his exploits have lifted a community that can feel confident its faith in his character is justified.

And where, yep, he’s become bigger than The Beatles, a term that maybe doesn’t mean what it once did but still applies to a new sensation making a different sort of history.

This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 5:32 PM.

Vahe Gregorian

The Kansas City Star

816-234-4868

Vahe Gregorian has been a sports columnist for The Kansas City Star since 2013 after 25 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has covered a wide spectrum of sports, including 10 Olympics. Vahe was an English major at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his master’s degree at Mizzou.