The Denver Broncos share a big rivalry with the Kansas City Chiefs, so, understandably, they’re upset over the dynasty that the Chiefs are currently enjoying after winning Super Bowl LVIII.
But as if the night couldn’t get any worse for them, they had to witness one of the greatest QBs who ever played for them give the Super Bowl trophy to Patrick Mahomes and company as they celebrated their back-to-back championships.
After the Kansas City Chiefs finished their on-field celebrations with their teammates and loved ones, the awarding ceremony was done in earnest. The entire NFL looked on as the league was prepared to formally begin the start of the Chiefs dynasty.
However, it was quite a shock for many a Broncos fan when they saw John Elway walk among a sea of Chiefs players to give them their fourth Super Bowl trophy. They understandably lost their minds.
Some Denver Broncos fans were undergoing extreme cognitive dissonance with what he was seeing on TV:
John Elway being on stage with the Chiefs is quite strange.
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) February 12, 2024
Elway presenting the Lombardi to the Chiefs in the Raiders stadium.
I took too much cough medicine?
— Bri (@BriMaestas303) February 12, 2024
One fan commented that the NFL did Elway dirty by having him award the award to his team’s biggest rivals:
Nasty work by the nfl making John elway walk through a sea of chiefs with that trophy pic.twitter.com/BKWsjGBFA9
— Joe Seppi (@_JoeSeppi) February 12, 2024
Another Denver Broncos fan even put a twist of focused humor into the situation:
If I were John Elway and they asked me to hand the Vince Lombardi Trophy over to a hated rival, I would have said “Neigh.”
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) February 12, 2024
While fans were having a small meltdown over John Elway’s Super Bowl appearance, the man himself was more cordial about the entire thing. However, he didn’t hide the fact that he would have preferred giving the award to the Niners.
Denver Sports’ Will Petersen wrote about Elway’s point of view on the situation:
“I didn’t think about being in the Raiders home-field, but you know I was giving it to the Chiefs. I was really hoping for, obviously good friends with Johnny Lynch and Kyle Shanahan,” Elway told Schefter. “The Chiefs played great. Especially that second half. I’d much rather have given it to the 49ers, but you know the Chiefs played great.”
At least Denver Broncos fans could rest easy in the fact that Elway was as uncomfortable in the entire situation as they were.
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