Even though the Dallas Cowboys posted a (7-10) record and the Kansas City Chiefs went (15-2) with a third straight Super Bowl appearance, the NFL still gave “Big D” six primetime games as compared to KC’s seven.
When comparing the two franchises, the Chiefs may be hot today, but it’s only a matter of time. Meanwhile, the Cowboys took the time and effort to gain the fans’ respect and recognition in the national spotlight.
Let’s examine why the NFL continues to hand out the Boys’ prime-time games each year, whether they are winning or losing.
With head coach Andy Reid being 67 years old and Travis Kelce 35, they’re not feeling 22 any longer. As for Patrick Mahomes, even the modern-day “golden child” could be coming to the end of the road. But still, he can’t let go just yet.
The Chiefs have been a nice story in the NFL. No matter how some fans may have gotten with the media pushing this team down your throats during their successful last three seasons, success stories are a thing in this competitive league.
But every story eventually has an ending, and for the Chiefs, that may be coming sooner rather than later.
The Dallas Cowboys’ ratings are based more on popularity than on winning Super Bowls. Despite not winning an NFC title game since 1995, the Cowboys always have multiple primetime games, whether the Thanksgiving game is competitive.
Their competitiveness plays a factor, but last year on Turkey Day, the (4-7) Cowboys took on the (2-9) New York Giants before a national TV audience of 38.5 million worldwide. The Chiefs are closer to the New England Patriots dynasty than “America’s Team”.
The Patriots hoisted six Lombardi trophies between 2000 and 2018, matched up against K.C.’s three from 2019-23. The Patriots had all this winning, with quarterback Tom Brady.
After Brady departed, they fell into obscurity. With a league as unstable as the NFL, the Chiefs could have a down year or so, and the narrative would shift about the team.
Last year, the New York Jets had six prime-time games (tied for the league’s high). Without Aaron Rodgers, they have two this year, despite playing in the biggest market.
While it’s only been seven years, some football fans are already sick of the Chiefs’ winning ways. Before they lost to the unwelcome Philadelphia Eagles, most casual and unbiased fans were rooting against Kansas City. But the media, since the Eagles’ win, thinks they were rooting for the Eagles.
While some fans weren’t rooting for or against the Kansas City Chiefs, fans will tell you that Kansas City’s new style of play doesn’t do them any favors. The team went from an air raid passing attack to a conservative pound-the-rock offense.
That took them from the No.1 offense in 2022 to the No. 17th last season, while they failed to score more than 30 points in their regular-season games.
They will have to find ways to improve on last season’s numbers, as both Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Bills quarterback Josh Allen will be looking to engineer a way to get revenge in the playoffs.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, traveled through time, or lived with the Woolly Mammoth, Taylor Swift has been dating Chiefs tight end Kelce. You can’t escape it, no matter how often you try to “shake it off”.
Of course, the NFL openly showed its crazy obsession with the power couple, and the potential new “Swifties” turned NFL fans. It worked, as the Chiefs have been toe-to-toe with the Dallas Cowboys in ratings. It just won’t be an everlasting love.
This year, Kelce’s performance has dropped. He has been rumbling, bumbling, and stumbling in his production and is starting to focus on building up for life after football.
The Swift effect will vanish like a ghost once he calls it quits from the gridiron. Even if they stay together, there is no chance that the Swifties will stick with K.C. just because she makes a once-in-a-blue-moon post on social media after a Chiefs’ win.
The Cowboys may be struggling to win on the field, but the media still can’t believe they are still winners among the younger generations. The Cowboys like to remind everybody that, like Sister Sledge, “We are Family.“
The effect of the 1970s Cowboys supplied the power for the rise of the 90s dynasty. Almost 30 years later, the effects of that dynasty are still being felt today.
The Chiefs won a Super Bowl with Stram and Len Dawson in 1970 but were silent for the next 48 years. No fans outside of Kansas City came out until Mahomes arrived, which is not enough time to build up a following like Dallas.
Every sport has its type of title drought-proof team passed down from parents to children. Notre Dame football finally made the national championship game this year, having not won since 1988. They are still one of the blueblood colleges’ favored football programs.
The New York Yankees have only won one World Series since 2000. They made it last year, where they lost, and their place among baseball royalty remains unscathed.
On and off the field, players who have represented and continue to represent that famous star on the Cowboys’ helmet still draw emotional, happy tears from fans.
While the KC arrow logo is iconic, it will never hold the same power the star has for decades and decades. The only “America’s Team” belongs in Arlington, Texas, and it is the Dallas Cowboys.
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