When did achievement become bad?

It’s that time of year again. Time for chicken wings, pizza and cold adult beverages while America tunes in to watch all the new commercials... I mean, um... the Super Bowl.

A quick review of my social media sees all manner of people bemoaning the fact that “once again” Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are competing in the Super Bowl. And to make matters worse, the San Francisco 49ers are being led by “Mr. Irrelevant” Brock Purdy at quarterback.

I only have one question: What happened???

I bring it up because, like many of my friends and peers, I was raised to believe that accomplishments should be recognized and that someone isn’t necessarily special just because they participate in something. It puts me in mind of the 2005 World Series where the Boston Red Sox came back from what appeared to be a clean sweep loss and ended their championship drought, as well as ending “The curse of the bambino.”

The reason that came to mind is because I heard multiple people say something to the effect of: “I hope Boston wins... they deserve it after all this time.”

I thought that was determined by who actually competed at the highest level to win the contest. But, maybe I’m just missing something.

The reason I bring it up (and, no it’s not because I’m a Chiefs fan. My favorite two NFL teams are the Chicago Bears and whoever’s playing Dallas), is that Mahomes is a talent unlike any other I have ever seen. The man is 28 years old, and since starting as quarterback for the Chiefs in 2018, he has gone to six AFC Championships and he has already won two Super Bowls. Within a six-year period, he has registered a first ballot hall of fame performance. He has done things on the field that leave the average spectator speechless, and has gotten the viewing public so familiar with his style of play that every Sunday we regularly expect to see at least one bit of magic in the highlights.

But we’re tired of seeing him win so much. And we’re tired of hearing about Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift (eye roll).

Brock Purdy, quarterback for the 49ers, was the last quarterback selected in his draft class. The. Last. One. And he set a franchise record this year. He set a franchise record – as a quarterback – in the same team that had the legendary Joe Montana as quarterback. In two seasons, he has performed very well with a record of 24-6. And now he’s going to play in the biggest game of his life, and the team is there due in no small part to Purdy’s playing ability.

But this stinks! It should be the Ravens vs the Lions (yes, I have actually heard people make remarks very similar to this).

My father grew up on Southern Illinois, which is very much St. Louis Cardinals territory. He grew up throughout the 40s and the 50s, and he graduated high school in 1960. As a child and as a teen, he collected every single New York Yankee lineup from 1950-1960; and that was easy to do because everyone in Marion, Illinois, hated the Yankees.

I asked my dad, “Why did everyone hate the Yankees?”

“Because some people hate having high standards,” was his reply.

The simple fact is that the two teams playing in the Super Bowl earned their spots in the game. They put in the time during practice and played their hearts out during their games. They are in the big game because they deserve to be there, and they deserve to be there simply because they won.

Now, I don’t know if all the hate is a result of not liking high standards; but, when I look at the current climate in public discourse I can definitely see many shortcomings. Facts have become irrelevant and it seems that the most entertaining hyperbole gets the attention. Standards have dissipated, and I’m left wondering what things will be like in another 10 or 20 years.

If you ask me, the Chicago Bears should be perennial champions, but they haven’t earned that. Not even close. So I’ll settle for the old tried and true standard of “May the best team win,” and I can only hope that things will improve soon.

Jonathon Dawe is a staff writer at the Daily American Republic. He can be reached at jdawe@darnews.com.