After winning his second Super Bowl and taking home his second Super Bowl MVP trophy, Patrick Mahomes uttered the now famous words, "I'm going to Disneyland!"
The next day, Mahomes was at Disneyland with his wife and two children. As part of the celebration, Mahomes rode on a Kansas City Chiefs float with Mickey and Minnie in a parade.
Disneyland with the fam ✅ pic.twitter.com/uGddntgr2L
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) February 14, 2023
By announcing his intentions to visit Disneyland, Mahomes was continuing a tradition that has been ongoing for more than three decades now.
After the New York Giants won Super Bowl XXI in 1987, quarterback Phil Simms was paid to look into the camera and say the phrase, "I'm going to Disney World." That was then cut into a commercial that ran shortly following the game.
Since then, it has become an annual tradition for at least one member of the winning team to do an endorsement for one or both of the Disney theme parks. Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, John Elway, and Tom Brady are all among the legends who have uttered the now famous phrase.
The only season since 1987 in which there was no commercial for Disneyland or Disney World was in 2005. No commercial ran after the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, and the exact reason for that remains unknown.
There have been some years in which more than one player got to say they are going to Disneyland or Disney World. Jerry Rice, along with Super Bowl MVP Steve Young became the first duo to be featured in the commercial after winning Super Bowl XXIX in 1995. Last season, following Super Bowl LVI, Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, and Aaron Donald all participated in the ad.
The phrase became so famous that even Mahomes tweeted about saying in 2013, before he even arrived at Texas Tech to begin his college career.
I bet it feels amazing to be the quarterback who says "I'm going to Disney World" after winning the Super Bowl #Qbs
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) February 6, 2013
Mahomes got to find out for himself in 2020 after he and the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. He was named the Super Bowl MVP and said he was going to Disney World.
Based on how the first six years of his NFL career have gone so far, Mahomes might say the phrase a few more times before he retires.
