‘The Fonz thinks he’s cool’: Henry Winkler recounts meeting Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes

Have you ever been excited about an upcoming event and then it turned out to be even better than you hoped?

Then you know how actor Henry Winkler felt about meeting Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Sunday.

Winkler attended his first Chiefs game and it was a doozy as the Chiefs rallied for a 30-27 victory over the Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

“It was more than I could have imagined,” Winkler said Monday in a phone interview. “It was exciting. It was friendly. It was surprising. And it was filled with meeting absolutely incredible people from Kansas City.”

After arriving at the stadium before the game, Winkler and his family were greeted by Mahomes’ personal assistant who took them to a suite in the stadium. Mahomes’ mother and siblings were in the suite along with friends.

Winkler then went down to the field as the Chiefs were warming up for the game. Coach Andy Reid’s wife, Tammy, greeted Winkler and guided him down the sideline.

Before long, Winkler found everyone wanted a photo with him. That included Chiefs coaches, chairman/CEO Clark Hunt and his wife, Tavia, and two of their daughters.

From the stands, fans were yelling support to Winkler and showing their age. He heard support for some of his iconic roles, including “Barry,” which is his current project, along with “Arrested Development,” “The Waterboy” and, of course, “Happy Days.”

The latter television show is what made Winkler a household name. For many people, Winkler will forever be The Fonz.

That includes Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who wore this shirt on Sunday night (Winkler’s one regret: he didn’t meet Kelce, but he did get one of those shirts).

Winkler watched the team warming up, then the players broke out of a huddle.

“And then all of a sudden Patrick Mahomes comes running across the field toward me and I am now so excited, I don’t know what to do,” Winkler said. “I am now going to meet the Harry Styles of football, in my mind. I can only explain to you this is how special this human being is. This is why he jumps off the screen and into my imagination. When we were talking, first we fist-bumped, then I gave him a hug and he gave me a jersey with my name on it that he signed, a No. 15 jersey.

“And he said you know I’m going to take you up on that dinner (Winkler previously invited Mahomes to dinner at his home). There’s always a seat at my table for you. But the thing is, talking to him it was as if I was meeting an old friend. We were both on our way to someplace. But there was no pressure. There was no game waiting for Patrick Mahomes He was so present and so in the moment with me that I was relaxed and excited and just so happy to meet this man.”

The cardiac kid

All this took place before a barn burner of a game. The Chiefs fell behind with under 2 minutes to go in regulation, but Mahomes led the Chiefs down the field and his 17-yard touchdown pass to Kelce won the game.

“This is why he is that cut above most human beings, you know normal athletes,” Winkler said. “I think he is so good he thinks, ‘You know, I’m gonna let myself get behind a little bit and then I’ll make it really exciting and win the game,’ because he’s like a cardiac kid.”

Winkler compared Mahomes to former 49ers and Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana, who also had a penchant for leading comebacks.

“Patrick is the definition of cool,” Winkler said. “He really is. The Fonz thinks he’s cool. Patrick is cool. I’m telling you from one man’s observation, first on a screen and then in person. You sense it. You feel it. You watch it. He just is an extraordinary fellow.”

Winkler’s journey to Sunday night’s game began with a visit to “The Rich Eisen Show” in June when the actor professed his admiration for Mahomes.

When Mahomes joined the show a few months later, he invited Winkler to a game when the Chiefs were in Los Angeles.

Despite the invitation, Winkler wasn’t sure if he would have an opportunity to meet Mahomes

“You have no idea what it is going to be like,” Winkler said. “Will this man even be in his mind to even say hello? Is it a pain in his ass? Does it take away from his focus? Because as an actor, I know what it’s like to do a play and you don’t see people beforehand. You see them only afterwards.

“So I had no idea what it was going to be like. I didn’t know the extent of the generosity of spirit and the generosity of all of the people that were part of his world in that suite. They were people all from Kansas City. His family, his friends, ... by the end of it, we were all like we had known each other a very long time. And they invited me to Arrowhead (Stadium).”

That probably won’t happen this season, Winkler said, but he’s hoping to get a chance to see Mahomes again at Super Bowl LVII, which will be played in the Phoenix area.

But should the Chiefs fall short of a third Super Bowl appearance in four years, Winkler made a lot of good memories on Sunday night.

“It was,” Winkler said in summation, “a wonderful experience.”

The feeling was mutual for Mahomes, who talked about the pregame meeting Monday on KCSP (610 AM).

“It was cool to have him at the game and he showed us so much support. And I mean, that’s the Fonz,” Mahomes said. “He’s someone that everybody knows, and for him to be such a big fan of the Chiefs, it was really cool. And he got to sit with my family and he was just an awesome guy.”