A man dressed as Patrick Mahomes wearing a Kermit the Frog mask was knocked out by someone dressed as Rocky Balboa, while another man holding a giant cannoli used it to attack someone else dressed as Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
In other words, it was just another year at Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade.
Nearly a year after the Philadelphia Eagles blew out Mahomes, 30, and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Eagles fans rubbed salt in the wound with a dramatic scene amid the city’s annual New Year’s Day parade. It was only fitting that Rocky, the city’s most famous fictional athlete, would be the one to deliver the decisive blow.
Held since 1901, Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade is the longest-running continuous folk parade in the United States. It features participants in elaborate costumes, acting out skits or routines for amused onlookers.
The Kermit mask is a reference to a meme fans have popularized based on Mahomes’ voice sounding like the popular muppet. The meme has sprouted up before in less forgiving settings, like in 2025 when Patrick’s wife, Brittany Mahomes, shared a photo of a Kermit the Frog doll wearing Patrick’s jersey and hanging from a pole in Buffalo after the Chiefs defeated the Bills in the AFC Championship Game.
“Do we remember this Buffalo? Absolutely disgusting,” she wrote over the photo via Instagram. “So as you go home tonight, I pray we become better people.”
The year before, Las Vegas Raiders safety Trey Taylor, was caught on video holding a Kermit doll and, imitating Patrick’s voice, saying, “I’m a bitch.”
Patrick brushed the video off at the time, telling reporters he doesn’t need to use that video as motivation.
“Stuff like that happens. It’ll get handled when it gets handled,” he said. “Everybody kind of just lets me play, I mean they know how I am. They don’t need to send me anything to keep me motivated.”
Eagles fans had extra reason to approach the 2026 parade with some pep in their step. Philadelphia is 11-5, champions of the NFC East, and will enter the playoffs with a real shot of winning back-to-back championships.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are shockingly out of playoff contention with a 6-10 record. Mahomes suffered a season-ending ACL injury on December 14 and is hoping to return for the start of the 2026 season.
“Don’t know why this had to happen,” Mahomes wrote via X the day of his injury. “And not going to lie, [it] hurts. But all we can do now is [trust] in God and attack every single day over and over again. Thank you, Chiefs kingdom, for always supporting me and for everyone who has reached out and sent prayers. I [will] be back stronger than ever.”
Coach Andy Reid, 67, told the media the next day that Mahomes had already undergone surgery and was beginning his rehab.
“He’ll attack it, just like he does everything else,” he said. “There have been some pretty good quarterbacks who have had the same injury, and they’ve done pretty well after they came back. He’ll get after it, and he’s got good people here to rehab him. He’ll be right on top of all of that.”
