Joe Theismann discusses the Kansas City Chiefs' mindset playing in consecutive Super Bowls

USA Today

11-06-2025

Joe Theismann discusses the Kansas City Chiefs' mindset playing in consecutive Super Bowls
This week, Chiefs Wire's Ed Easton Jr. spoke with Washington Commanders and NFL legend Joe Theismann about his participation in this year's American Century Championship, which will take place from July 9 to 13 at Edgewood Tahoe, and the mindset required to play in consecutive Super Bowls, like the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I think it's meeting all the different people you have a chance to spend time with; I'm a people person. I think that's what business is all about," said Theismann about participating in the American Century Championship, "That's what life's all about, is getting a chance to see people that you've watched, that you've read about, that you've heard about. You get to know them as people."
Theismann is a former Super Bowl champion with Washington who missed out on back-to-back titles the following season. He compared his experience in that situation to the Chiefs' multiple Super Bowl journeys.
"I think it takes a toll because you play a lot more football than everybody else," said Theismann. "You look at the Kansas City Chiefs when you really look at what they've done over the last five years, they've played at least a season more than anybody else because of the additional playoff games, the Super Bowl, and the shortness of the off season from a recovery standpoint, both mentally and physically."
Washington defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. Still, they fell short in Super Bowl XVIII to the Los Angeles Raiders as Theismann reminisced on the team's mentality during that period.
"In 1982, it was a strike season, so it wasn't that long. I think we played 13 games, maybe that year, 12 - 1. And then in 1983, it was a heck of a football team, and I didn't play personally well against the Raiders," said Theismann. "I feel responsible for what happened there, but it's a matter of having the guys come together and care about one another. Coach Gibbs was an incredible coach when it came to keeping everybody together, keeping it exciting, and keeping it fun. He'd come up with different plays on Wednesday that you couldn't wait to run on Sunday because you were curious. You didn't know what they were going to do. So okay, fine, let's do it. So it's been, it's been a tremendously wonderful thing."
The annual tournament awards $750,000 in prize money, much of which the celebrity players donate to local and national charities. Over the years, nearly $8 million has been donated to non-profit causes. Network television exposure on NBC and a first-place prize of $150,000 make the celebrity tournament one of the most prestigious in the golf world.