Travis Kelce reacts to Chiefs being villains ahead of Super Bowl rematch vs. Eagles

Back in January 2019 when quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs fell to Tom Brady and the dynastic New England Patriots in that year's AFC Championship Game, many casual fans found themselves rooting for the Chiefs to defeat what was thought at the time to be the NFL's "evil empire." 

Since then, the Chiefs have made four Super Bowl appearances, claimed three titles and are now a win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 away from becoming the first team in history to three-peat as Super Bowl champions.

During the latest edition of the "New Heights" podcast, Kansas City star tight end Travis Kelce addressed the Chiefs replacing the Patriots as the villains of the league. 

"I love it," Kelce said, as shared by Nick Shook of the NFL's website. "I love it. At one point in time, it wasn't that. …I was the 'do you feel bad for 'em guys.' …I'm enjoying doing this with the guys together — the guys that we have in there because it just makes us even more of a family." 

Michael Silver and Mike Jones of The Athletic pointed out after Kansas City defeated the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game that the Chiefs are now the NFL's so-called "bad guys" in the eyes of viewers who have convinced themselves the league wants the reigning Super Bowl champions on the sport's biggest stage for reasons that may be related to Kelce's relationship with entertainment superstar Taylor Swift. 

Just as fans previously said Brady routinely got "calls in his favor" during his legendary career, some of those same individuals now think the NFL protects Mahomes and Co. during games. On Monday, Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports blasted such cynics and insisted the league "isn’t scripted or rigged or under commissioner control" regardless of what Chiefs haters want to believe. 

"You just circle the wagons," Kelce added during the podcast. "...People are saying whatever they want. You just band together and it makes you appreciate more of what you have because people want what you have."

As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed the Chiefs as 1.5-point favorites over the Eagles. Fair or not, some may see that line as proof that the Super Bowl LIX script has already been written.