In the heat of the moment during Super Bowl LVIII, Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelsie became frustrated on the sideline, and took it out on head coach Andy Reid. The source of his frustration in that moment of anger was likely a combination of factors… one being that the Chiefs were struggling offensively trying to consistently move the ball against the 49er defense, and another being that the talented tight-end was being held in check by San Francisco’s pass coverage. Regardless of his reasons, Kelsie’s anger took hold of his actions. His outrage was captured on camera… as is almost every subtle and not-so-subtle gesture at an event as highly charged as a Super Bowl. The images have been re-posted and replayed on many platforms in social media, and much has been made of the incident.
I cannot in good conscience condemn his behavior. My emotions have often guided my behavior and comments when I was deeply invested in the outcome of a contest. Anger is not new to me. Typically, when I’ve reacted without giving myself time to cool off and think, my thoughts and actions result in harsh attacks on officials and parents… and I hope it never happened, but possibly students as well. My good fortune is that when it happened, the entire media world wasn’t there to record it and broadcast it. It’s punishment just having a memory of those heated events in my own head. The bottom line is that it was wrong. It was wrong when I blew my top, and it was wrong when Travis Kelsie unleashed on his coach. Sports are emotional… and if they weren’t, they wouldn’t be interesting in the least… this offers no excuses for adolescent behavior; however.
Perhaps what should be noticed and emphasized is the effectiveness of a calmer mind… Andy Reid. If a lesson is to be drawn, let it be that Coach Reid didn’t allow himself to be distracted by the actions of one player. He had a bigger picture on which to remain focused. Certainly, the eventual ending with the Chiefs scoring a touchdown in overtime to capture back-to-back Super Bowl wins had to have diffused a lot of the speculation as to the significance of the moment. In fairness, Travis Kelsie was able to contribute in the final moments with significant catches in the game tying and overtime drives. He did apologize, and clearly regained his professional composure. As an avid fan of the Broncos, I have to confess that I would have loved all the alternative hype… smile.
Cooler heads prevailed and they were able to cap a great season. I hope we don’t have to get used to this every year… but the Chiefs are truly a great franchise … in the heat of their moment.
