It’s hard to turn on the television, pick up a newspaper or even buy cereal these days without seeing the smiling face of Patrick Mahomes. The personable 23-year-old quarterback has been in demand not only locally but nationally since being named MVP of the National Football League last year in his first season as a starter.
This season, Mahomes has picked up where he left off. The Kansas City Chiefs are heading to the Super Bowl after winning the AFC Championship against the Tennessee Titans, 35-24. Mahomes scoring a touchdown on a dazzling 27-yard run was a big part of the victory as Kansas City fell behind the Titans 10 to nothing to start the game.
Mahomes also showed amazing poise the previous week to lead the Chiefs in an incredible comeback January 12 to defeat the Houston Texans, 51-31 after being down 24-0.
Mahomes has been described as a man of humble faith in God, and his faith comes out from time to time in his tweets.
How does he stay humble and grounded after enjoying so much success so early in his career? He credits his Christian faith, The Christian Post reported.
Mahomes has said faith is a big part of his life and keeps him grounded.
“My faith has always been a big part of what I do… I’ve grown up in church and faith really helps you know why you’re playing the game, and who you’re doing it for,” he told FSPN.
Earlier in the season, Mahomes suffered a terrible injury that was devastating enough to knock him out of playing for a month.
But he made an impressive comeback. Here’s what he tweeted after that injury:
“Awesome team win! Love my brothers! Thank you for all the prayers! Everything looking good so far!” #GodisGood #ChiefsKingdom
He later posted, “God was watching over me on that field. My brothers held it down! We keep it moving forward!”
Mahomes’ Christian faith has always been encouraged and supported by Chiefs’ CEO Clark Hunt. He is committed to having faith as part of the team and emphasizes the importance to his staff, The Tyler Morning Telegraph reports.
“We want our employees to develop spiritually,” Hunt said. “In the National Football League, Christ is really glorified. My identity is my faith in Christ.”
The Kansas City Chiefs stadium offers a chapel service for people at the games and chaplaincy is part of the association.
Mahomes was sharing his faith even before his performance made him a household name.
“In middle school, he got real involved with his youth group,” his mother, Randi, said. “He got saved. There was a night at church, he had his hands raised to the Lord and he was singing. I just felt overcome with this most awesome moment, more than any football game, because I knew where his heart truly is.”
Mahomes made the decision to be baptized in seventh grade, because as Randi said, he desired to “become a man in church”. He has stayed faithful through his college career at Texas Tech University and now, professional football. Regardless of whether he passes for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns as he did last season, he is likely to be a superstar in the sport for years to come, with a platform to reach millions.
“I want him to stay humble; that means a lot to me,” Randi told KSHB-TV. “I always encourage him to pray and to thank God for his blessings that he has and his abilities.”
Last season, upon winning Offensive Player of the Year award, Mahomes made the following remarks.
“God is amazing. If it wasn’t for Him, I wouldn’t be here.” After thanking the team and others, he ended with “Go Chiefs!”
He also tweeted, “Man this is crazy! God is amazing! Thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me get here!”
When accepting the MVP award, he struck a similar tone.
“I’m truly honored,” he said humbly, going on to mention the rich history of the award and mentioning some of the previous recipients.
“I’m humbled to share this honor with you,” he said. “This season was special and a lot of people helped me get to this point.”
He went on to thank God again, then his Mom and Dad, his brother and sister, and long-time girlfriend Brittany.
He then thanked the Chiefs organization, the Hunt family, the coaches, and fellow players, remarking ”This is an award for all of us.”
He finished by thanking the “Chiefs kingdom.”
“Your passion and love is unmatched,” he exclaimed. “You’re here, no matter when and where.”
“This is just the beginning,” he reassured everyone. “We have a long ways to go. Thank you.”
It would seem he is living up to his promise.
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