Kansas City fan inspires Chiefs players with Kobe Bryant's 'Mamba Mentality' ahead of Super Bowl LVIII

When Kansas City Chiefs players arrived at the parking lot of the team's practice facility on Thursday they were greeted by a striking piece of inspiration. A member of Chiefs Kingdom stood in wait in the 60-degree temps at One Arrowhead Drive with a sign that simply read, "Mamba Mentality."  If you're not familiar with the […]

Charles Goldman — NFL Managing Editor
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When Kansas City Chiefs players arrived at the parking lot of the team's practice facility on Thursday they were greeted by a striking piece of inspiration. A member of Chiefs Kingdom stood in wait in the 60-degree temps at One Arrowhead Drive with a sign that simply read, "Mamba Mentality." 

If you're not familiar with the term coined by Kobe Bryant, he described it himself as follows: 

"The Mamba Mentality simply means trying to be the best version of yourself. That's what the mentality means. Everyday you're trying to become better."

This is something that Chiefs players are quite familiar with. They preach getting better every single day throughout the NFL season any given year. The culmination of that continued growth is what results in championships. 

Chiefs S Justin Reid appreciated the dedication from the fan, and he also appreciated the reminder of how Bryant approached the game of basketball. 

"Shoutout the guy waiting in front of the parking lot to our practice facility with the sign that says ‘Mamba Mentality'," Reid wrote. "Please don’t need 100 people with signs showing up now haha. But know that we are locked in!"

This isn't the first time that Bryant's "Mamba Mentality" has come into focus for the Chiefs. Just days after his tragic death, the team used it as a rallying cry ahead of their first Super Bowl appearance in over 50 years, one that occurred against the 49ers four years ago.

“I wasn’t lucky enough to get to meet Kobe, but the impact he made on my life, it was huge,” Mahomes said. “The way he was able to go about every single day when I was a kid, the work ethic, the intensity he had to be great every single day. Even to this day, I still watch videos on YouTube the day before games, just listen to him talk and how he puts everything in perspective. Being great on and off the field with his kids and his business ventures and obviously his play. It’s a tragic thing. Prayers to his family, but he made a huge impact in my life.”

Bryant's mentality came up again ahead of the AFC Championship Game in 2021.

"Yeah I mean, Kobe (Bryant) has one of the best mentalities of all time as far as a competitor out there and winning championships, not just winning games," Mahomes said. "I take a lot from that of going out there every single day and not being satisfied with where you’re at and like I said the job’s not finished. When we went into the season, we weren’t talking about going to the Super Bowl, we were talking about winning again and we’re trying to run it back. I’m excited for the opportunity to go out there and play against a great football team and try to do that."

Things would go differently for the Chiefs in that postseason. As Bryant famously said following Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals, "Job’s not finished." 

The players in Kansas City are not satisfied by simply reaching the Super Bowl mainly because they've tasted defeat in that game before. Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the teammates who were around for Super Bowl LV do not want to feel that feeling again. As Justin Reid says, they're locked in and they're respecting the challenge that lies ahead of them. 

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