Most fans think they have next to nothing in common with Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, but it turns out that’s not quite true. Mahomes grew up watching Thanksgiving games just like the rest of us, and in his pregame comments he indicated that it would be “surreal” playing at AT&T Stadium--otherwise known as “Jerry World”—against the Dallas Cowboys during the late afternoon window tomorrow.
Mahomes comments were picked up by several outlets, including one story written by Jesse Newell of The Athletic. Mahomes’ father, longtime big league pitcher Pat Mahomes Sr., and his father would get his sons passes into the lower area near where the Cowboys players entered the field. He’s also buy some nosebleed seats in the upper deck just so they’d have seats and be able to see the players make their entrance.
“I don’t know if that’s allowed,” Mahomes said with a smile Tuesday. “But it was really cool, just making memories with my dad, my brother and stuff like that.”
The Kansas City quarterback hails from Whitehouse, Texas, which is two hours away from AT&T Stadium, and of course he played his college ball at Texas Tech, so there’s a lot of history here. Mahomes’ interest in football started to peak when he was in middle school, and the Cowboys were a natural choice as his favorite team, especially since that was the case for his father as well.
“There’s a lot of good times watching those games with my family,” Mahomes said of the Cowboys. “So it’s definitely gonna be surreal being able to play them at the stadium I watched them play at a lot.”
Mahomes added that he attended three or four Cowboys home games growing up, and he also said he closely studied former Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, which makes sense if you know about or have seen some of Romo’s adventurous forays out of the pocket. Romo is now lead analyst for CBS football broadcasts, and Mahomes said it’s been “cool to meet him.” Tomorrow's game will be broadcast on CBS, so expect Romo and play-by-play man Jim Nantz to be part of the festivities.
The Chiefs quarterback will be all business tomorrow, though, especially considering the Chiefs injury situation. Their injury report was extensive after Kansas City played a tough, physical overtime game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, and Mahomes himself turned up on the list with a groin strain, although he was a full participant in whatever light work the Chiefs did this week.