The most brutal athletes paralyze their opponents. They act as menacing, lurking shadows that will inevitably ruin your well-laid plans. Whether you have assembled a stellar team is irrelevant. or the number of hours that were lost in agony over Xs and Os. or even what’s stated on the scoreboard.
We recall the last few pictures. The famous step-back jumper by Michael Jordan in Salt Lake City, the fist pump by Tiger Woods at Augusta, and Muhammad Ali’s mocking of Sonny Liston. The most evil, however, is all that comes before these timeless moments. Very few athletes have the ability to delve into their teammates’ minds.
Let’s start with the most recent victim. Kyle Shanahan is a man who believes in himself. This Super Bowl champion’s son contributed to the development of offensive football as it exists today. His big pride is justified. And yet? when overtime was scheduled for Super Bowl LVIII? After erroneously electing to receive the ball under the NFL’s new overtime regulations and kicking a field goal on fourth and 4 from the Chiefs 9, Shanahan became the smallest person at Allegiant Stadium.
Because everyone in the Patrick Mahomes Show experiences fear and confusion, he coached with that mindset.
This is a quarterback who reduces the most accomplished players in the game to supporting roles. He just needs to make one error. One door is just slightly ajar. Shanahan is not by himself, which is precisely why His Airness is the most appropriate analogy for Mahomes. Jordan’s dominance over the NBA with six titles was more akin to a chokehold. He defeated coaches and players who had the potential to become legendary in their own right, writing their biographies on their own with the same level of brutality that we are now witnessing in real time from Mahomes.
