It goes without saying that Trash Talking is a prominent aspect of the sports world. Through it occurs for many reasons, most of the time it is doled out to intimidate the opponent. Does it work? The jury is still out on that, but my contention is, probably not. But undoubtedly, teams and sports fans alike engage in it frequently. There is perhaps no greater example of this than the public exchange between Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval and Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kielce. It began when Mayor Pureval essentially made a public proclamation that the Cincinnati Bengals would beat Kansas City Chiefs to make a second straight Super Bowl appearance. However, he did so through some extraordinarily hostile and confrontational comments, which many feel provided fuel for the Chiefs ultimate victory over the Bengals. Upon further review of the events of the game, it becomes quite clear that Kansas City may have very well won for other reasons.
The drama commenced when Mayor Pureval decided to compose a “Gotta Play Us Day” proclamation. In it, he labeled Kansas City’s Arrowhead stadium Burrowhead Stadium, a play off the Bengals quarterback’s name Joe Burrow. Furthermore, the mayor sarcastically wondered if the officials suggested that Patrick Mahomes take a paternity test to see if Burrow was Mahomes’ father. Many times they say that teams can come into a contest overconfident in their ability to defeat an opponent, and it’s quite apparent through these comments that the Mayor had little doubt that his team would come out victorious. Unfortunately, the Bengals were unable to ride his wave of confidence to a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
After a 23-20 Kansas City victory over Cincinnati, the rhetoric continued to heat up when the Chiefs Travis Kielce hit back. In classic WWE style, he proclaimed, “Know your role, and shut your mouth, you jabroni,” which was the oft used phrase of former wrestling superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In a parting shot, he also said the city was better run when Jerry Springer was the mayor. So by many people’s logic, will this motivate Pureval become a better mayor because of Kelce’s comments? It is tough to square that circle.
At this point, it is worth exploring the question, “What is the overall result of “Trash Talk” on all parties involved?” My contention is that it is negligible. Most of the time, I would suspect that players want to perform at their best for pride’s sake. In addition during competition it is highly unlikely that previous derogatory comments made enter the thought process on the field, this would result in concentration lapses that hinder performance. Therefore, there are two main aspects that play major roles in competitive outcomes: talent, and fortune, both of which were pivotal to the teams’ performances in the AFC Championship Game. On the final drive Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes was able to drive his team down the field for a long field goal opportunity. However, due to a roughing the passer penalty called on the Bengals, the field goal took place from a much closer range, making it more makeable, ultimately resulting in a Chiefs 3 point win. Clearly, “trash talk” had little impact on the result of this game.
It is undeniable that trash talk is an integral facet of athletics, and is used frequently as a tactic in competition. Generally it is used to attempt to degrade and intimidate an opponent. In many circles, it is thought it also serves as motivation for the team being disparaged. Ultimately, the impact of derogatory rhetoric serves as interesting talking points for sports enthusiasts, but it is ludicrous to insinuate that it comes into play when actual competing occurs.
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