Patrick Mahomes reveals Cowboys fandom, hate for Patriots as a kid

It’s hard to imagine Patrick Mahomes repping any NFL team besides the Kansas City Chiefs. However, the three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback lived less than two hours outside of Dallas for the early years of his life.

Mahomes naturally gravitated toward the Cowboys, he revealed during the Super Bowl’s opening night on Monday. At the same time, he grew up watching football in the early-to-mid 2000s, which means he couldn’t stand Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

“I was a Cowboys fan growing up and I used to hate the Patriots,” Mahomes said. “I think more than anything I appreciated the greatness of the Patriots more now when I see how hard it was to do what they did.”

Mahomes has only played the Dallas Cowboys once during his NFL career. The two teams met in November 2021 during the regular season, where the Chiefs would go on to defeat the Cowboys 19-9.

As for the Patriots, New England’s dominance from 2001 until 2019 under Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady is etched into the NFL record books forever. Six Super Bowl wins later, and the Patriots are considered as one of the greatest sports dynasties of all time. Perhaps this is where Mahomes’ frustrations with them stem from.

Ironically, Mahomes and the Chiefs have seemingly become the modern version of what the Patriots were for all of those years — an unstoppable force and a yearly Super Bowl contender. Mahomes would go on to play Brady six times during his career but never beat him in the postseason, losing in the AFC championship game in 2019 and the Super Bowl in 2021.

Now, Kansas City is looking to do what none of Brady’s teams ever did, however, and win a third-straight Super Bowl. No team in NFL history has accomplished that feat.

On Sunday when the Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, Kansas City will also be looking for its 10th-straight playoff victory. The last time they experienced a postseason setback came in the 2022 AFC Championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals, who would go on to lose to the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.

Looking to win his fourth Super Bowl at age 29, Mahomes isn’t only catching up on the Patriots dynasty for Super Bowl rings. With a win on Sunday, he’ll only need one more ring to tie his childhood franchise in Dallas at five rings all-time.