NFL
Patrick Mahomes Is Indirectly Inspiring NFL Fans to Fight the Coronavirus
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterPublished30 Jun 2020
As every football fan knows, Patrick Mahomes can do just about anything. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback’s talents, however, aren’t limited to the gridiron; he was also a promising baseball talent, recently joined LeBron James’ voting rights team, and shines as a social media star. But could he even help fight against the coronavirus?
While Mahomes has been staying at home and working out with his girlfriend, his name could help save lives across the Midwest. At the end of the day, that’s just as valuable as anything he could do on the gridiron.
Patrick Mahomes has grown into one of the NFL’s brightest stars
RELATED: Patrick Mahomes Went from Being a Potential MLB Star to a Super Bowl Champ
Since the days of Len Dawson, the Kansas City Chiefs struggled to draft a franchise quarterback. In 2017, however, everything changed when the team drafted Patrick Mahomes.
Despite the quarterback’s eye-popping numbers at Texas Tech, some NFL teams were skeptical that Mahomes could thrive at the professional level. Andy Reid and the Chiefs, however, weren’t concerned. Thanks to some help from the Buffalo Bills, the AFC West club selected the signal-caller with the tenth overall pick.
After spending a year behind Alex Smith, Mahomes took over the starting job in 2018; he promptly posted an incredibly numbers, throwing for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns, en route to the Offensive Rookie of the Year title and NFL MVP honors. While his counting numbers in 2019 were a little less impressive, he led the Chiefs to a series of playoff comebacks, culminating in a Super Bowl victory.
Beyond that on-field success, Mahomes has also grown into one of the NFL’s most popular players. Between his incredible arm and improvisational abilities, he and the Chiefs have become must-see TV.
Patrick Mahomes’ mere name can help fight the coronavirus
On the football field, Patrick Mahomes can do seemingly anything with incredible ease. Now, the quarterback’s name is being used to fight the coronavirus.
As noted by Pete Grathoff in his Kansas City Star column, Raygun, a Midwestern company, has started selling face masks with the message, “Help keep Patrick Mahomes safe: wear a mask” written on them. “KC, remember how happy you were after the Super Bowl,” the brand asked on Twitter. “Well, now imagine if Mahomes got Covid & with diminished lung capacity couldn’t repeat. Masks aren’t just for YOU, they’re for Mahomes, too! Do your part.”
While the quarterback has no involvement in the product, his mere mention is seemingly enough to convince Kansas City residents to cover their faces. According to Garthoff’s column, the Mahomes mask has been “one of [Raygun’s] best selling masks” since it launched; as of Tuesday, they’ve officially sold out in the company’s online store.
The Kansas City Chiefs will be hoping to defend their title this fall
RELATED: How Patrick Mahomes Isn’t Letting the Coronavirus Shutdown Stop Him
While the NFL has tried to keep their regular season more or less on track, it’s impossible to know what will happen in the fall. Kansas City Chiefs fans everywhere, though, will be hoping that their team can take the field and defend their Super Bowl title.
On offense, the Chiefs will be virtually identical to the team that lifted the Lombardi Trophy in February. Kansas City also added Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the 2020 NFL draft; while it would be naive to suggest a rookie would completely change the club’s dynamic offense, he should be a perfect weapon for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
On the opposite side of the ball, the Chiefs were quietly becoming a decent defensive team at the end of 2019. While there were some bumps along the way, Steve Spagnuolo’s system finally took hold; if Kansas City is even solidly average on defense, that will be more than enough for Mahomes and his offense.
At this point, it’s unclear what the future holds. Wearing a mask—whether it’s for yourself, your neighbor, or for Patrick Mahomes—can’t hurt, though.
Stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference
