With all due respect to CBS analyst Nate Burleson, he couldn’t be more out of touch.
As swaths of NFL fans seemingly roosted in pervasive angst about another Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl appearance on Sunday, Burleson took time to break the fourth wall and scold people for not wanting to see a team that will have now officially played in five of the last six Big Games. You know, because it’s boring, exhausting, and expressly against the “underdog” story America usually prefers for obvious reasons in its sports outcomes and otherwise.
READ MORE: Josh Allen said two tragic words before Buffalo Bills’ doomed final possession.
Honestly, it was a bizarre moment that will assuredly resonate with almost no one outside of the Kansas City metropolitan area:
"You are witnessing greatness and just be happy that you are alive to be there to see it." – @nateburleson pic.twitter.com/H1NnGnh6sL
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 27, 2025
Speaking purely for myself now, I don’t know who this admonishing speech is supposed to be for. I don’t watch sports for “greatness.” Unless it’s a team I root for, I don’t consider myself lucky to be alive at the same time as a sports dynasty that will otherwise have no tangible effect on my life outside of that sports context. Given the excessive, inherent flattery, this was a strange way to frame people not wanting the same football outcome they’ve watched for half a decade now.
I watch sports for the tremendous athletic feats. I watch for the athletes playing as one for a common goal while pouring their hearts out together. If I’m a neutral party — meaning, I’m not a fan of either team in a high-stakes game — I’m rooting for the squad that has never broken through and won it all. In Sunday’s case, that was the Bills.
But alas, they couldn’t pull it out.
I don’t have to be happy for the Chiefs or appreciate all of their accomplishments. Because that’s not why I’m here in the first place.
And I suspect many others feel the same.
