Chiefs continue to cry disrespect, troll Eagles pass rush during Super Bowl parade

Crying disrespect — whether it's real or not — is a time-tested motivator for champions at the highest level.

After an offseason that didn't crown them as Super Bowl favorites, the Kansas City Chiefs — Travis Kelce in particular — leaned into alleged disrespect en route to their second championship in four years. The theme continued during Wednesday's Super Bowl parade in Kansas City, where Kelce and Patrick Mahomes took center stage.

"Before we started this season, the AFC West said we were rebuilding," Mahomes said. "I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't know what rebuilding means. In our rebuilding year, we're world champs."

Rebuilding?

The AFC West was certainly overrated last offseason and ended up falling woefully short of expectations. And the Chiefs retooled their passing attack after trading Tyreek Hill to the Miami Dolphins.

But this was a team fresh off an AFC West title that advanced to the conference championship and returned the bulk of its core, including Mahomes, Kelce, Chris Jones and an offensive line that produced two All-Pros in Joe Thuney and Creed Humphrey. Not to mention Pro Bowl tackle Orlando Brown.

Mahomes wasn't the only Chief pleading disrespect. On Sunday, Kelce demanded respect while proclaiming that not "one of y'all said the Chiefs were gonna take it home this year, not a single one." He maintained the theme on Wednesday.

"Let me take you back to 2022 and the month of maybe April," Kelce said. "Guys were getting signed left and right. The haters were saying that the Chiefs would never make the playoffs. The haters were saying that the Chiefs were done."

There certainly were some ridiculous takes out there. There always are. It's the nature of the media game. But there was nothing resembling a consensus that believed the Chiefs "were done." Few believed the Chiefs would fail to contend for a Super Bowl, much less miss the playoffs. This is a great Chiefs core that was expected to contend this season and projects to do so for seasons to come.

The Chiefs were betting favorites to win the AFC West. And while not preseason favorites to win the Super Bowl, they had the third-shortest odds out of 32 teams behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and consensus favorite Buffalo Bills.

But championships at the highest level are won in the margins. Players find motivation wherever they can, and disrespect — feigned or not — is a powerful motivator. There were cries of disrespect from Georgia football en route to its second straight national championship in January. Michael Jordan famously found slights wherever he could to fuel his singular focus on winning.

The Chiefs certainly used disrespect as fuel this season and did so effectively en route to a championship. But Wednesday wasn't all about disrespect. In fact, it was mostly about partying. And party the Chiefs did.

Head coach Andy Reid had a front row view from the top of the bus for the parade.

Brown and fellow offensive lineman Trey Smith had a message for a vaunted Eagles pass rush that failed to sack Mahomes on Sunday.

Kelce found some extra fuel from a fan and showed off his All-Pro hands in the process.

He also escaped the grasp of one handsy, overzealous Chiefs supporter.

Meanwhile, Mahomes has reached the level of commanding applause simply for doing his business.

He also prompted concern that he gave away the Lombardi Trophy to a random fan.

But don't worry. That appeared to have been a replica. The Chiefs' latest Super Bowl prize was safe and sound for the official celebration.