MIAMI (WDAF) — Mahomes Mania isn’t limited to the Kansas City metro. It stretches all the way to Miami.
Most already know Patrick Mahomes has sold more licensed merchandise this season than any other NFL player, surpassing even Patriots QB Tom Brady.
With all the Mahomes jerseys at the Super Bowl Experience in downtown Miami Beach, you’d probably think there are a lot of people who already made the trip from Kansas City’s Chiefs territory. But when we asked around, we realized most are Miami locals who have Mahomes fever.
“Just the way he acts off the field, his personality, the way he joins life and his teammates — he’s just not the kind of player that you see a lot of this year,” Jeff Passaro said. “And he’s the kind of guy that you want to be the spokesman of the league.”
Passaro has never been to Kansas City and was never much of a Chiefs fan until 2 years ago when he saw Mahomes play the game.
“It’s just really something that Kansas City should be proud of,” he said.
Rebecca Pavich lives in the Miami area, and on Monday she picked up a Mahomes jersey at the Super Bowl Experience for her 7-year-old son Alex.
“He really got hooked on watching Mahomes and loves him,” she said. “He seems to be just a great guy, and Alex really loves athletics. And so to put everything into what you love to do — he seems to always be putting in 100% effort, so he should look up to that.”
Logan and Garrett Reynolds are among the lucky few who get to go the Super Bowl on Sunday. The two were never Chiefs fans until the caught Mahomes’ highlights.
“His highlights are crazy, man,” Logan said. “Like what he said, the no-look passes and just — he’s got a bazooka for an arm, so that’s why we watch him. He’s very entertaining.”
But they also like the man they see off the field.
“Everyone likes the good guy,” Logan said.
“I mean, nobody hates Mahomes,” his brother agreed.
And that’s the general consensus. People are walking around Miami wearing Mahomes jerseys, and they say they’re not even Chiefs fans necessarily. They’re Mahomes fans.