Mahomes, Kelce, Reid on endless commercials hard to stomach in Broncos Country

Patrick Mahomes (15) of the Kansas City Chiefs reacts to a failed third-down attempt against the Denver Broncos during the third quarter of the Chiefs’ 27-24 win at GEHA at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, January 1, 2023. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

The Chiefs have become the Patriots. And that is not a compliment. At least not in these parts.

I am getting irritable in my 50s. Losing patience for reruns. What started innocently five years ago has become a full-blown annoyance.

It all began when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2019. They stepped onto the biggest stage, stopped paging Dr. Heimlich and announced themselves as a power. Cap tip. Congratulations. What has happened since is unfathomable and unacceptable. They have gone from fantastic to dynastic, appearing in four Super Bowls in five years and winning three.

The diagnosis: Chiefs fatigue. And there is no vaccine. I checked when I got my flu shot.

Symptoms include lack of enthusiasm, rolled eyes, mood swings, boredom, bloodshot eyes and blurred vision.

The Chiefs deserve all the attention they get. But I am over it.

It traces back to my life as a writer. You root for the story. And the Broncos-Chiefs games have been more predictable than a Scooby-Doo cartoon. The Broncos devise a mischievous scheme, get punched in the face and insist they would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling refs.

Denver has lost eight straight in Kansas City and 16 of their last 17 overall.

Pulling for the undefeated Chiefs has become like rooting for Apple stock.

Wasn’t it bad enough that we had to watch the Patriots follow this script from 2001 to 2007 and again from 2014 to 2018?

By 2015, I felt sorry for the Chiefs. I covered the game in 1998 when Shannon Sharpe drove Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas bonkers by allegedly reciting his girlfriend’s telephone number, drawing three personal fouls. I watched Peyton Manning spend four years putting their heart in a blender.

It was funny, if not unusually cruel. At one point, the Chiefs lost eight consecutive playoff games over 25 years. It was kind of sad. And even more hilarious.

Now they face Denver with a Joker’s grin. Sunday they are an eight-point favorite, fitting for a team that has won eight straight AFC West titles. The explanation for Chiefs fatigue is layered: No one threatens them in the division, they win too much, and they are omnipresent.

I can’t turn on the TV without seeing Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid. Mahomes tells me what to eat (fresh at Subway), how to communicate (T-Mobile), who should clean my hair (Head & Shoulders) and where to bundle my home and auto insurance (State Farm).  The only things missing are a hormone clinic, weight-loss diet, baked beans and a car dealership.

According to The Wall Street Journal, no celebrity appeared in more commercials during the 2023 season than Kelce. He promotes cereal, hardware, cable TV, soup, soda and sandwiches.

As for Reid, he steals the show with his “nuggies” spot with Mahomes for State Farm and his “great googly-moogly” line in a remake of the Snickers “Chefs” commercial.

These guys are fun. So is ice cream. But I don’t eat it for breakfast. Is their expiration date approaching soon?

If it isn’t bad enough, the coach and quarterback have imposters. Almost Andy Reid — a nice guy — looks, talks and acts like Big Red, sometimes helping out in commercials with the coach. He even appeared at a charity golf tournament in Fort Lupton in June.

And of course, Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola patterns his appearance and mannerisms off those of Mahomes, though he has struggled mightily to imitate the winning part.

Then, there is Taylor Swift. She is dating Kelce. I have no issue with broadcast cutaways to her at the games — it beats seeing a coach in an oversized sweatsuit staring at a laminated play sheet like he is splitting the atom.

It is the aggregate. The endless dominance with the ridiculous narrative that “nobody believes in us.”

It is a lot. They are like Amazon in red tops and white pants.

“Yeah, I am getting tired of the video they put up at the beginning of the annual (owners meetings) session here with Kansas City pictures,” Broncos owner/CEO Greg Penner told me in March. “I am ready for something different.”

The previously long-suffering Chiefs revel in this. They went from pity to an endless party. The Chiefs have become Duke basketball under Coach K. They are the Yankees with Kelce as Derek Jeter and Mahomes as Mariano Rivera. America’s Team is the one playing against them.

This week it is the Broncos. And there is no reason to think Denver will win. But someday this run — and Chiefs Fatigue — will end, hopefully before Mahomes is hawking life insurance and eating a spicy Italian sandwich with dentures.