A
Salute
to the Field
General
of the
Family
BY HEATHER REID
MOTHERHOOD
’m writing this in the days before Super
Bowl XVIII (that’s 58 for those non-sports
ball fans and anyone who hasn’t
deciphered Roman
Numerals since third grade), and
the hype is inescapable.
Because we have a dear
friend who is a Chiefs
Superfan, our
family is more invested
in the game than usual.
Plus, if I’m honest, I’m also
cheering for Taylor’s
boyfriend.
As an advertising
agency alum, the
commercials are
usually my thing,
but this year, I’ve
climbed on board
the Chiefs Train, in no
small part because of
their quarterback, Patrick
Mahomes.
Recently, my boys and I
have watched the Netflix
series Quarterback, which
follows the 2022-23 season
with three NFL QBs: Atlanta
Falcons’ Marcus Mariota,
Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk
Cousins, and the Kansas City
Chiefs’ Mahomes. It’s a
fascinating journey through
family life, training, team
meetings, pre-game rituals,
and game days.
The series offers a compelling trinity of
storylines in a sports-documentary style, with just enough reality show moments to keep
things interesting. Mariota starts strong but struggles mid-season with a series of losses that results in his demotion from his starting position to a rookie backup the same week his cool-under-pressure wife, Kiyomi, gives birth to their first child. Kirk Cousins, who might be the nicest person and one of the hardest-working athletes in
the world, is also a doting husband and father and
a man of sincere and public Christian faith. His
season is strong despite nagging rib injuries. A
miked-up Cousins’ groans of agony, despite
insisting, ‘I got the wind knocked out of me!’,
are painful even as outsiders, and we
experience them through the eyes
I