Dynasty is a word Travis Kelce doesn’t like to use much. But a third Super Bowl ring for Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs would be historic.
Should the Chiefs defeat the 49ers in Super Bowl 58 on Sunday in Las Vegas, the Chiefs would have their third Super Bowl trophy in the last five years and become the first team since the 2003-04 Patriots to win back-to-back titles.
“It’s been thrown around a lot,” Kelce said Thursday. “And this being our third in five years I think the number three is a big number in terms of dynasties and things like that. So hopefully we can get this thing. I’m just trying to get this third ring.”
Kelce can’t help but notice the similarities between the Chiefs and the Patriots of their glory days. There was the quarterback and tight end combination of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski paired with the longtime head coach in Bill Belichick. He also can’t help but remember the two times the Patriots defeated the Chiefs in the playoffs.
“They set the standard of dominance in the NFL,” Kelce said of the Patriots, who won six Super Bowls with Brady and Belichick. “I was a part of that and felt that dominance when we lost to them in 2015 in the playoffs and then again in 2017.”
Much has changed for both teams since then. Brady and Gronkowski left New England and finished up their careers with the Buccaneers — beating the Chiefs in Super Bowl 55 — and Belichick is no longer coach of the Patriots.
The Chiefs, however, are still rolling along with Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, who will be competing in their fourth Super Bowl together. While Reid’s life hasn’t changed that much, Mahomes is married with two kids now and Kelce is dating popstar Taylor Swift. But he doesn’t consider that a distraction.
“I love this game,” Kelce said. “I love coming into work. I have a lot of desire to be accountable to the ones next to me. I think everybody has distraction or things in their lives that can take away their focus from their work life and you just have to compartmentalize. It’s no different.
“It might be on a national media scale so it seems like it’s a lot harder but in the reality of things when I step into those doors and step on that field I am focused on championship football and being a Kansas City Chief.”
Kelce also said he likes what he’s seen from the team on the practice field as they go for the trifecta amid all the hoopla that goes with playing in the Super Bowl.
“It’s chaos,” Kelce said. “It’s a lot of fun, a lot of energy at practice. And everybody’s focused and dialed in on their job at hand. And things got a little chippy and offensive and defensive lines are trying to get their work in and make sure that everybody’s ready for the game.
“And it got me fired up yesterday. You could see everybody locked in and wanting to get their work in and making sure everybody’s ready for the task at hand on Sunday. And I just love the focus and the energy of the team right now.”
