Things went less than great for the Kansas City Chiefs in the first quarter of the Super Bowl, with the offense only managing to pick up a measly 16 yards over the entire quarter. In fact, the situation by the midpoint of the second quarter was so infuriating to Travis Kelce, whose relationship with Taylor Swift drew a good bit of attention to this year’s Super Bowl, that Kelce slammed into his coach and erupted in anger.
That came after a turnover from Isaiah Pacheco, who fumbled the ball and let the 49ers recover it. Obviously infuriated, Kelce went ballistic and ran into Coach Andy Reid with enough “oomph” to knock him to the side, and then instead of apologizing Kelce started screaming. The incident only quieted down and was stopped from escalating when another player, the wide receiver, stepped between Kelce and Reid and calmed things down.
Then, after the intervention brought some respite, Kelce’s temper evidently cooled, and the situation petered out. The bad situation for the Chiefs, however, did not, as the 49ers then extended their 3-0 lead to 10-0, with vocally Christian player Christian McCaffrey making a 21-yard reception he turned into a touchdown. That came in the second quarter.
Predictably, social media had a field day with Kelce’s antics, mocking him severely for the unbecoming display of rage. Once commenter, for example, joked that Kelce would be furious about a “fake” relationship with Swift if the Chiefs ended up losing anyway, posting, ‘“I DIDN’T GET INTO A FAKE RELATIONSHIP JUST TO LOSE IN THE FUCKING SUPER BOWL!’ -Travis Kelce probably”
Other commenters took the situation more seriously and blasted Kelce for his behavior. Graham Allen, for example, said, “Travis Kelce should be ASHAMED of himself for assaulting Andy Reid like this on NATIONAL TV. He is a grown man. SHOW SOME RESPECT…” Similarly, Jason Whitlock wrote, “Travis Kelce just ran up on one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and shoved him during the Super Bowl. I think that’s a story that Jim and Tony have to address. This is wild.”
Another commenter turned the incident into one about Swift, saying, “The deplorable, abusive behavior/ anger Travis Kelce inflected on Andy Reid a much older man who doesn’t stand a chance of physically defending himself against Travis Kelce is a major red flag. Taylor Swift better run not walk to the nearest exit.”
Watch the incident here:
After the incident, Coach Reid spoke to Kelce, as did Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes. However, afterward, when someone on the sideline tried handing Kelce, the star tight end, back his helmet, Reid pushed it away and made sure Kelce didn’t get back in the game quite yet.
The Chiefs ended up scoring a field goal in the second quarter and field goal and touchdown in the third quarter, somewhat making up for their lackluster start headed into the end of the game, and Coach Reid showed no signs of having been injured by Kelce’s antics.
