There is only one America's Team, and that is the Dallas Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones may or may not have sold his soul to make that a thing across the United States in the 1990s. At one point in time, the Pittsburgh Steelers were asked if they wanted to don that moniker. The Rooney Family declined because the Steelers are Pittsburgh's team. They have a massive nationwide fan base, but I get that.
As for a team that seems to be front and center when it comes to everything the NFL these days like the Kansas City Chiefs, could they stake claim at what has long belonged to the Cowboys? Well, Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce has absolutely no interest in the Chiefs becoming America's Team, even if he is dating the biggest pop star of their generation in Taylor Swift. He is totally right in this.
Here is what Kelce had to say about the notion of the Chiefs being America's Team on New Heights.
"I'm kind of out on the whole 'America' Team' deal. I don't give a f**k about that s**t. I want to be Kansas City, I want to be the Chiefs man. I want to be the big bad Chiefs, come join if you want."
Kelce is appreciative of anyone who wants to be part of Chiefs Kingdom, no matter where they are.
In a way, the Chiefs replaced the New England Patriots as the NFL's new version of the Evil Empire.
Travis Kelce does not want Kansas City Chiefs to become America's Team
There may be a little more subtlety to this than Kelce is giving off, but there is a price you pay for being America's Team. You are essentially taking a massively popular fan base in one metropolis in the hopes of gaining nationwide appeal. The Cowboys embody this in the NFL. Across other sports, the New York Yankees are this in MLB and the same applies to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA.
Even if you are from Dallas, Los Angeles or New York and root for the respective team in your city, you will be labeled as a frontrunner whenever the team does well. No one feels sorry for fans of any of these teams when they do not perform well, because of the nationwide agenda they are being covered through. In a way, you end up becoming hated, mostly because this lens lends to decadence.
So what if the Chiefs did not three-peat in the Super Bowl last year? They have dominated the AFC, much like the Patriots did throughout the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era. In time, this dynasty will end, just like it did for the one over in Foxborough. When the empire collapses and you have to rebuild from the rubble, who is going to be there to help you? It will be Chiefs Kindgom and not The Swifties.
People love to attach themselves to a winner, but bailing at the first sign of trouble is a character flaw.