Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: 'Last year was a failure to me' without Super Bowl ring
The Kansas City Chiefs had an excellent 2020 season on the whole. They went 14-2 and made it all the way to the Super Bowl... where they got pretty well walloped by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For tight end Travis Kelce, that loss in the Super Bowl invalidated the entire season. As he told SiriusXM Radio on Tuesday, he measures success in one way and one way only: Super Bowl rings. If he doesn't end the season with one of those, nothing else matters.
"If we're not going out there winning Super Bowls the season isn't a success."@Chiefs TE Travis Kelce reflected on the 2020 season and looked ahead to 2021
🔊 AUDIO 🔊 #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/OvR5eLJbCg— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) June 22, 2021
"I took a note from the [Chicago] Bulls when they were winning their championships and had their run. It don't mean a thing if you ain't got the ring, baby. All those accolades, all that stuff, it might be cool when I'm sitting down on a couch watching the young guys trying to chase the record, but right now, none of that really meant anything. Last year was a failure to me, to be honest. It just is. That's just what I have in my heart. That's the type of player I am, man. If we're not going out there winning Super Bowls, man, the season isn't a success."
Kelce's 'failure' season was incredible
When Kelce says "all those accolades, all that stuff," he's hand-waving one of the best seasons a tight end has ever had. He ended the regular season with 1,416 yards, 105 receptions and 11 touchdowns, all career highs. He set the single-season yardage record for tight ends, became the first tight end with two 100-reception seasons and the first with five straight 1,000-yard seasons.
Kelce might appreciate what he accomplished down the road, when he's "sitting down on a couch watching the young guys trying to chase the record." But that's something for future Travis Kelce to appreciate. The Travis Kelce of right now cares about one thing: more Super Bowl rings.
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