Athlete of the Year is one of those vague awards that tick a box by usually honoring a benefactor, an activist athlete, a stereotypical quarterback, a Finals MVP, Tiger Woods, the fastest man in the world, an American gymnast or some gold. medalist in the swimming pool during an Olympic year.
I’m more superficial than that.
This year, Travis Kelce has brought some unorthodox momentum, both on and off the field.
Who is Kelce’s competition?
Lionel Messi? Inter Miami may miss the MLS Cup Playoffs while missing time for international play. He has put his head down and focused on football and family, which is commendable, but he is not yet doing anything that warrants Sportsman of the Year. Last year was the World Cup. We have moved on.
Deion Sanders does the ideal recruiter for the NIL era. But we’ll see if his Colorado Buffaloes can maintain this level of national importance once the illusory effects of September football wear off. That Oregon ass whooping humbled Sanders. Something tells me this Colorado team is at least a year away from making some serious noise in the New Big 12.
After recording just 11 catches for 95 yards in two appearances this season since missing Kansas City’s opener, Kelce’s 12th catch – as Bill Belichick so unusually put it — was the most difficult of them all.
In 2023, Kelce did just that crossed over to a new dimension.
Every moment you can get Belichick to shed his stoic mask in front of the media, you’ve crossed a rubicon. On the other hand, we know his affection for TEs is stronger than any coach in the league.
Months after calling his shot on a podcast with his brother, Travis hit it out of the park Babe Ruth in the ’32 World Series. I mostly rolled my eyes at the Taylor Fast-Kelce rumor mill because he constantly sounded like Kip Dynamite’s cousin referring to his girlfriend LaFawnduh rather than a tangible possibility. But then again, she was real, at. However, Kelce gets props for manifesting this vision. He did everything but borrowing a page from Deion’s playbook in his postgame presser, watch the Chiefs punch the writers right in the face and bellow, “Do you believe now?!”
Kelce winning a second Super Bowl as Patrick Mahomes’ number one option after Tyreek Hill’s departure to Miami pushed him into the Gronkowski stratosphere of commercial popularity. The one thing Kelce hasn’t done is advocate for his fellow tight ends to be used as pseudo slot receivers demand more money. This could be recency bias, but Kelce venturing into that parasocial territory where sportswriters and Twitter have passionate takes on his dating life has elevated him past Gronk.
The dolphins scored 70 against Denver, but Kelce’s Q score doubled in one afternoon. Either this was the biggest PR stunt of the season or Kelce’s mackin skills are generational.
Whatever you think of Swift or Kelce, taking a heatwave…control shot on Swift and then deflated inspired the whole dream chasers and DM shooters out there. Ride into the sunset with Swift with the top down was a TO caliber touchdown dance.
https://x.com/PopBase/status/1706150864355037455?s=20
One of the underrated components of Athlete of the Year is taking into account what each candidate has done before him brothers. Kelce’s 2023 calendar year was a victory for an underrepresented segment of the sports population. Tight ends were once the poor man’s wide receiver. Brock Bowers isn’t mentioned in the Heisman convo, but Kelce was drafted among the NFL’s top wideouts in most fantasy leagues. In a few years, the league has shifted to more twelve formations to get tighter targets on the field.
Despite winning three Super Bowls, Shannon Sharpe was only able to achieve this level of fame after his retirement. And even then, his drooling over Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife, Nicole, only developed into one photo for a cycling class in a luxury gym. In a class where diva receivers are extinct, Kelce has always been one of the flashiest cats. And yet somehow he has managed to maintain his top class status on the pitch as well. Are Week 2 Touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Chiefs’ struggling offense finally took the lead.
But with greater visibility comes greater polarization. Hosting SNL in March was a bold move, but it ventured into a courtship Fast is dangerous. Swift’s siren songs have left bruised egos in her wake, which speaks to the treacherous ground he treads. All the Swifties clan and Haters included pile on Kelce, but he’s still drive high. For now.
Activist and retired NBA player Ethan Thomas might have gone too far this weekend by comparing Sportsman nominee Deion Sanders to Muhammad Ali, who was stripped of his title and livelihoodhood because he refused be put into service for the Vietnam wasbut love is a battlefield that Kelce isn’t afraid to introduce himself to.
(OK, I see myself out there).
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