Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City’s superstar tight end has a message for the team’s young players.
As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare for Sunday’s AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills, veteran tight end Travis Kelce — now heading into his seventh conference title game — has plenty of wisdom to share with his younger teammates.
“Honestly, it’s just [about] the mindset — and your devotion to your craft,” Kelce told reporters on Friday. “Everybody understands the stakes — and everything that we’ve got at hand [when we’re] going against the Bills. It’s just making sure you’re showing that you’re going to work more now than ever.”
Kelce understands what will be at stake in Sunday’s game — and always, appreciates the chance to be part of it.
“I’m just excited for the challenges I get in this game,” he observed, “and I’m very appreciative of the opportunities that I have. This is one of the biggest challenges that we’ve ever had.”
Part of that challenge will come from facing Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen — a player that Kelce admires.
“Josh is who I used to dream about being like in the NFL,” he confessed. “[A] big, athletic quarterback [with a] big arm — [to] be able to be a dual-threat guy.”
But unfortunately for Kelce, it just wasn’t to be.
“I never had the arm talent that Josh has,” he acknowledged to laughter, “so they kicked me over to tight end.”
While the postseason atmosphere is heightening the pressure on the team, Kelce believes the Chiefs have the right attitude to withstand it.
“It’s really just become a culture here,” he said. “I’m not the only one doing it — everybody does it here. It’s a fun group to be around — especially when you add some of the younger guys in. You get a new, fresh kind of feel to the locker room. Everybody keeps you in tune.”
Now in his 12th year with the team, Kelce had sage advice for his younger teammates who may be experiencing their first AFC Championship.
“Don’t let the lights blind you,” he offered. “It’s a big moment. You’re going to hype it up yourself — because you’ve been dreaming about moments like these — [but] the biggest thing [to know] is that you’re good enough. You don’t have to be anybody that you’re not. You don’t have to force yourself to be greater than who you are.”
After a season in which there has been no shortage of criticism that the team doesn’t deserve to be in the postseason, Kelce believes it is high time to ignore the background noise — to focus on what he and his teammates have built together.
“We work our tails off to be exactly who we are now,” he said. “It’s just time to go out there, have fun and just cut it loose.
“Don’t let the lights shorten your steps or stutter your feet.”
