Q&A: Patrick Mahomes on Mavs fandom after Luka, high school football and more

USA Today

3 days ago

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a Texas high school football legend, and he still carries lessons from the Friday night lights with him to this day.
The future Hall of Famer played his high school ball at Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas, the kind of small town where many athletes forge their dreams of being able to play sports on the biggest stages in the world.
It's why his new partnership with T-Mobile for its 2025 Friday Night 5G Lights initiative makes all the sense in the world. Mahomes said he feels the initiative is a great way for him to give back and help other high school athletes reach for the stars like he did when he played in high school.
"It's just such a natural fit for me," Mahomes said about the T-Mobile partnership. "Growing up in a small town, and high school football kind of being what everybody kind of breathes every single week in the fall.
"[It's great] being able to be part of something that gives back to these high schools and gives these kids opportunities to go out there and live out their dreams."
FTW chatted with Mahomes in June about the partnership, his high school football days and some pressing questions we had about Dippin' Dots, his Dallas Mavericks fandom perspective on the Luka Dončić trade, his social media habits and his noted love for ketchup on mac and cheese.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
What's the biggest thing you miss from your high school football days?
I think just high school sports, and high school football especially, it just is the truest form of football. I mean, there's no money. There's no marketing deals. There's no sponsorships. It's all about just the love of the game and playing with the kids that you grew up with, and that's how I was in a small town is, I grew up playing little league baseball, little league basketball with the guys that were playing starting receiver for me in high school, and I'm still friends with those guys.
And, so, this is the true love of the game. It's what the spirit of football was about when it first started, and I think it's really cool that T-Mobile's going to partner with a lot of these high schools, give them some money so they can broadcast their games, and they'll be able to have that for the rest of their time.
When you look at your journey from high school to the NFL, what's the biggest thing that helps you from your high school days?
Nothing was given to me... Football was never really the path for me, and you just had to go out there to work hard and earn everything that you got. I feel like a lot of people can resonate with that. It's not always going to be the 5-star quarterback or the person that comes with all the opportunities. It's about the guy that works hard every single day to be the best that they can be, and that's who usually has the most success because when they get the success, they know how to keep it by continuing to work hard.
When I heard the Kelce brothers doing their podcast, they said you had a Dippin' Dots special fridge in your garage. How did you get that?
I think it started off naturally. I think me and Brittney [Mahomes], we were at some type of game, and we ordered Dippin' Dots, and she posted on her Instagram story, and Dippin' Dots reached out to us and said they had these freezers that they could actually send to us so we could have them at home. And, so, I got them at home... [Travis Kelce] didn't tell the part where he kind of comes over all the time now and grabs two or three bags every time he's over.
What was it like getting acclimated to Twitter when you were younger, and what's kept you going in terms of posting during live sporting events?
In everything I do in my life, I try to stay authentic and realistic to who I am, and I was on Twitter just kind like how you probably were when it really boomed and I was getting into high school. And I was live-tweeting then as I do now. And so it's just being who I've always been. I love sports. I love watching games, and I react just like every other person does, and so I'll throw it out there. I get a few more retweets and then likes and stuff like that now, but it's the same tweets I've had my entire life.
I know you're a big Mavericks fan... Where were you during the Luka Dončić trade, and what has it been like to process going from that to landing Cooper Flagg?
It took me a while [to process everything]. I was actually at home when the Dončić trade happened in bed like I'm sure a lot of people were, and I remember rolling over and waking my wife up to tell her, like she cared as much as I did. She basically put on a good face for me, but she rolled over, went back to sleep, and it kept me up for a couple hours. But, it's more than just a basketball player, man. I've known Luka since he was 18 years old in Dallas, and I was down there, like 22 years old. So, [I'm] happy for him that he got to get to the Lakers, a great organization, and I'm sure the sky is the limit for them there, but [it's] exciting for me to win the draft lottery, a roller coaster of emotions, and getting Cooper Flagg now, it's going to be an amazing team. Get everybody back healthy, and we'll have as good a chance as anybody at making a run at the title this next year.
Have you ever eaten Whataburger spicy ketchup on mac and cheese?
I have not done the spicy Ketchup on mac and cheese. I mean, I've done the ketchup on a lot of things. I do like ketchup on mac and cheese, but I usually stick to putting it on my Whataburger stuff. But, if you get those French fries or that Whataburger with that ketchup, man, it's hard to beat that. And, so, glad to get it to Kansas City now. I probably go there more than [Chiefs coach Andy Reid] wants me to, but he can't be mad at me when he's eating all the cheeseburgers.