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Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the unquestioned G.O.A.T. here in Kansas City. Not just because he’s brought two Super Bowl championships to the city, but because he does a lot for his adopted hometown. From his kids’ charity “15 and the Mahomies” — which won a national charity challenge earlier this year — to bringing Whataburger franchises and jobs, the man is a great ambassador for KC. Plus, he’s a married dad who loves his two young children. We love him here, too. (And yes, I’m a diehard Chiefs fan.)
But I guess you can’t make everyone happy, and that includes a peevish father whose son failed to score a Mahomes autograph.
The scene of the crime was the American Century Golf tournament at Lake Tahoe, NV. The quarterback had been taking time from his play to sign autographs for his young fans when he finally had to put a stop to it. “They told me I can’t do anymore … I was signing stuff, and they said I was taking too long,” he said to his fans. Yet he still continued to sign his name as much as possible.
That wasn’t good enough for the aforementioned peevish father.
The man’s son asked Mahomes if he would sign his jersey, but the QB declined by telling the kid “Can’t sign for everyone … can’t make everybody happy.”
Whereupon the peevish dad stepped up:
Yeah, you can … you can just make one kid happy out of a hundred.
So Mahomes can make one kid happy, yet what about the other 99? They get bupkis. As long as this guy’s kid gets the coveted Patrick Mahomes signature on the jersey, then it’s all good, I guess.
And, of course, the peevish dad caught the exchange on video and posted it, probably to show social media what an ass Mahomes is. However, he didn’t get the reaction he wanted.
Without actually addressing the boy, Mahomes taught him a valuable life lesson:
You can’t get everything you want in life.
That’s something the kid’s dad should’ve told him. Leave Mr. Mahomes alone, he’s busy playing this game, and he’s holding other people up. And yes, I know you’re disappointed, but that’s life.
My grandson had a similar experience, although not with Patrick Mahomes.
In June we went to a Kansas City Royals game to celebrate Gus’s 11th birthday. His dad had reserved Diamond Club seats for us all, as well as an illuminated sign message that ran during the seventh inning stretch which read “Happy Birthday, Gus! We love you! — Mom and Dad.” Not only that, but the cellar dweller Royals actually won the game. All pretty cool for a kid’s 11th birthday, right?
Yet Gus experienced some disappointment, too. He and a group of other boys gathered around the dugout hoping to get autographs. Gus especially wanted his favorite player, Bobby Witt, Jr., to sign his baseball.
But they got shooed away. After the game ended, Gus tried to get an autograph of Samad Taylor, who hit the walk-off single which won the game for the Royals. But once again he failed. Taylor was the hero of the game, and the media were interviewing him.
As my daughter said, “That’s okay. He’ll get over it.”
Which is what the peevish dad whose kid wanted the Mahomes autograph should’ve told his son. Get over it. This is life and you can’t have everything you want. Besides, if the dad had enough bucks to be on that golf course, he could buy his son whatever sports-related tchotchke he wanted.
However, in this case, I wonder if it wasn’t so much the kid but the dad who was more upset about not getting the valuable Patrick Mahomes signature on the jersey. After all, he could sell it on eBay for a good chunk of change. Maybe that dad needs a lesson in maturity, too.
Featured image: All-Pro Reels/flickr/cropped/CC BY-SA 2.0.
I wonder if it wasn’t so much the kid but the dad who was more upset about not getting the valuable Patrick Mahomes signature on the jersey.
Very possible.
Part of the problem is the level of idol worship in our society. Especially combined with the self-centeredness. If you take these people (even the really good ones) down a notch, back into the realm of Just Another Human Being, then getting their autograph isn’t quite as important as all that.
(Armchair quarterbacking here, but I bet getting Gus to be able to simply step up to Mr Taylor and shake his hand and say “Really good game. Thanks for working so hard and making it fun,” would have taught HUGE lessons about what’s important and keeping perspective. And he still would have gotten to say, “I shook his hand!”)
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