Patrick Mahomes often says that while growing up in Whitehouse, Texas, “football was my third sport.”
He lists baseball and basketball as his more important interests in his youth. His friends believe he was good at basketball, even though his professional future was limited because he was about 6’2″. He played football and baseball at Texas Tech, of course, but was also drafted by the Detroit Tigers. He also played golf, competed in the high jump, and tried his hand at any sport.
All of this makes his quest to become the greatest player in football history all the more incredible, but it also explains it.
“Patrick is the epitome of a multi-sport athlete,” said Adam Cook, one of his high school football coaches.
By doing everything and specializing in nothing, Mahomes was focused on one thing: winning. The sports, the seasons, the fields (or courts) changed, but what remained was him and his teammates striving to come out on top.
He was sometimes the point guard who would attack opponents on the break, sometimes the pitcher who would pitch a no-hitter, and sometimes the pitcher who would sling the ball deep into the end zone.
“I’m just playing,” Mahomes likes to say.
And perhaps learning how to win in any way has defined Mahomes’ career more than his myriad skills. He was never the prototype of a professional quarterback, but when Kansas City opens the NFL season at Baltimore on Thursday, he stands at the start of history.
The Chiefs are seeking their third consecutive Super Bowl championship, something no NFL team has ever done, and if they win another Lombardi Trophy in February (Mahomes’ fourth), they’ll achieve something no other great quarterback has ever accomplished — not Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw or Tom Brady.
“I don’t know if we’re going to win another Super Bowl. I mean, that’s the hope,” Mahomes said this week.
Hope remains strong thanks to Mahomes. He’s only 28, but the guys around him have changed, coordinators have come and gone, key players have aged or departed, but at the end of the day, we have No. 15, who has found a way time and time again, especially in the playoffs.
Maybe it’s 13 seconds down against Buffalo, or down by 10 to San Francisco in the Super Bowl, or in overtime in another game.
Winning is everything. That’s it. That’s what it’s always been about.
“He played multiple sports, so all of those experiences and skills translated to the NFL,” said Cook, his high school coach. “For Patrick, it was all just one game. It was always just a big game playing on a different court. In high school football, you’re only guaranteed 10 games. Instead, Patrick was always playing something and learning how to win along the way.”
A third straight title won’t be decided Thursday. Baltimore remains a strong contender in the AFC, but any statement made so far from the playoff gauntlet won’t mean much. Mahomes has a 15-3 playoff record, but that’s because he’s learned what it takes.
For Mahomes, this is simply a chance to compete, one of 17 chances during the regular season to perform and walk away feeling good. He’s learned to pace himself with expectations and to enjoy the spotlight that came with last year’s championship.
This is about the first step.
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“This is a great opportunity for our guys,” Mahomes said, “to see what it’s like to be on the biggest stage. Obviously, we want to play in the Super Bowl at the end of the year, but this is another big stage, to get that experience and to play some great football teams. I’m excited for our guys to get out there and I’m excited for the guys that haven’t been here yet to get to see what it’s like to be on a stage like this.”
While he has his eye on the final victory, he remains focused on the present: history is up for grabs, and perhaps no player is more ready for it than Patrick Mahomes.
