The region’s local NFL team Philadelphia Eagles are putting in final preparations for Super Bowl LIX this Sunday, and they’ll be facing an opponent that’s become very familiar to football fans across the globe.
The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to win their third Super Bowl since 2020, while a win this weekend would give them the first three-peat in NFL history. Add in their loss to Tampa Bay in 2021, and the Chiefs will be making their fifth appearance in the big game in the last six seasons.
John Allgood, instructor of sports management in the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, says due to the team’s constant winning, coupled with the increased exposure of stars like quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce, has led to Chiefs fatigue.
“In my age group, you can go back to the Yankees in the late ‘70s. If you were a Yankees fan, you loved that run, but if you weren’t you hated them,” he said. “You’ve seen it over decades of teams that have gone on dynastic runs, like the Bulls, Patriots, and even in college athletics with Alabama football and Oklahoma softball.”
Allgood says the negativity boils down to one factor: jealousy.
“The question is, why do people who are not part of that dynasty hate it so much? Frankly, it comes down to envy. If their own team was making that kind of run, they would be thrilled. But it’s not their team,” he said.
“Fans of these teams, I wouldn’t say gloating but are radiating success, and I think that causes jealousy from fans of other teams because of that.”
Allgood mentioned that another factor in Chiefs aversion is fans’ helplessness to the situation.
“The other thing about hating dynasties is that fans can’t do anything about it,” he said. “I always talk to my students about finite fan identification. Why do you feel so happy when your team wins? Because you feel like a winner. But when your team loses, it’s the opposite effect, even though you had nothing to do with it. So that’s where all this hate comes from – the lack of control over it.”
Seeing Mahomes, Kelce and head coach Andy Reid on numerous commercials also feeds feelings about overexposure. Not to mention Kelce’s ultra-famous girlfriend.
“Mahomes has got kind of a goofy personality, and then there’s the Kelce-Taylor Swift thing that’s actually increased viewership with females,” Allgood said. “You can also bet on things like how many times Swift will be shown during the game, which is just adding salt to the wound. If people already hate the dynasty, they’ll be going nuts throwing stuff at their TVs just because it adds an element to Chiefs coverage.”
However Allgood doesn’t agree with the perception that having the Chiefs and their dynamic personalities back in the Super Bowl will necessarily lead to higher ratings.
“If I was the commissioner, I wouldn’t care,” he said. “You just want to have a great event, because it really doesn’t matter who’s playing in the game. They’re always going to have those ratings, because it’s a spectacle, not just about the teams that are playing. It’s more about the NFL brand than it is Mahomes or Kelce.”
“There’s also fatigue when it comes to dynasties,” he continued. “Let’s just say I’m an average fan who doesn’t hate Kansas City, but if I’m tired of Kansas City, am I going to tune in to watch them play in the Super Bowl again?”
The NFL sure hopes so.