No team takes their Super Bowl loss well. After fighting throughout the regular season and running through the postseason gauntlet, a loss in the Super Bowl isn’t easy to digest. As a result, fans and sometimes players themselves will look for reasons for their defeat. For most people, they scan as excuses.
Even a dominant team like the Kansas City Chiefs, which has solidified itself as a true dynasty with five Super Bowl appearances in six seasons, couldn’t help themselves. After losing in Super Bowl 59, a rather bizarre reason for their 40-22 blowout made the rounds.
Understandably, X had a field day with it, with the jokes writing themselves.
Fans Rip Apart Super Bowl 59 Loss Excuse From Kansas City Chiefs
It all started with Henry McKenna, an NFL analyst and reporter at Fox Sports, who made the claim that the toll of multiple Super Bowl appearances was too much for the players to bear. He even released a snippet on social media, which read as follows:
“Before the game, a Chiefs coach told me that media members had been asking him if going to Super Bowls ever got old. And he bluntly told me: ‘It does.’ There was legit Super Bowl fatigue from this Chiefs team. It was completely clear in the first half, when things escalated quickly.”
Attempting a historic achievement, the first-ever three-peat in Super Bowl history did come with its own challenges. After all, Kansas City was the first team to make it to the Super Bowl in their third year after winning it back-to-back.
But, for the fan base at large, the excuse scanned as ridiculous.
“Oh…so they’re just mentally weak that couldn’t get up for a three-peat? Something that embarrassing should be kept close to the chest.”
Oh…so they’re just mentally weak that couldn’t get up for a three-peat?
Something that embarrassing should be kept close to the chest
— T.J. | 🏝🇺🇸 (@TJbravo808) February 14, 2025
Fans also brought up other sports, like hockey, which were just as physically demanding to them and demanded a much tougher schedule.
“Hockey players play 60 games in a 5 month span and it’s just as physically demanding. I’m not giving the Chiefs an excuse for playing 60 games in 3 years.”
Hockey players play 60 games in a 5 month span and it's just as physically demanding. I'm not giving the Chiefs an excuse for playing 60 games in 3 years.
— Showtime (@showtimehcky) February 14, 2025
One fan in particular was adept at sarcasm, stating, “Yeah bro…the NFL should totally institute an off-season. Oh…Wait…”
Yeah bro… the NFL should totally institute an off season.
Oh…
Wait…
— Chrit. (@TheChrit) February 14, 2025
For most, though, the biggest issue came down to a mentality gap. It was impossible to imagine die-hard football fans to comprehend that a player or coach wouldn’t want the ultimate dream of being able to compete in a Super Bowl. One fan stated it perfectly.
“Yall had the same amount of time to rest as the Eagles. If going to the Super Bowl is ‘too much’ for an NFL player, hang the cleats up and let someone else take your spot. If that isn’t your dream from the moment you get drafted, you’re wasting a roster spot.”
Yall had the same amount of time to rest as the Eagles. If going to the Super Bowl is “too much” for an NFL player, hang the cleats up and let someone else take your spot. If that isn’t your dream from the moment you get drafted, you’re wasting a roster spot
— Philly Sports Truther (@PSportsTruther) February 14, 2025
For most fans, the excuses were getting tiring. An Eagles fan pointed out the very minor difference between the two sides heading into New Orleans.
“The Eagles played two fewer games in that time span AND flew to São Paulo, AND didn’t get a WC bye this year. Come on.”
The Eagles played two fewer games in that time span AND flew to São Paulo, AND didn’t get a WC bye this year. Come on.
— Stagosaurus (@StagSchool) February 14, 2025
Of course, this comes from the same fan base and team that criticized their Super Bowl loss two years ago due to a slippery turf. The excuse permeating from the Chiefs fandom, as ridiculous as it may sound, is in a long line of ones made by the losing Super Bowl team.
Still, it’s a bad look for a team that is cementing itself as the dynasty of the 2020s to make such a claim. Unless Kansas City’s Super Bowl window is shut for the foreseeable future, it was, at best, a desperate attempt to grasp at straws for a viable reason for their 40-22 thrashing, which began 34-6.
