NFL France Calls Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce as ‘World Champions’ & Zinedine Zidane Fans are Livid

Suresh Menon | 07/05/2024
Zidane Fans Displeased as NFL France Calls Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce ‘World Champions’

The NFL preseason is about to end as teams will start training in a few months. Players are getting as much vacation time squeezed in and what’s better than basking in the sun at Miami while catching an F1 game? Unfortunately for Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, a surprise meeting with French soccer icon Zinedine Zidane has turned into a social media controversy.

At the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday at the Miami International Autodrome, Mahomes and Kelce bumped into Zinedine Zidane at the Alpine F1 team camp. This iconic moment between the KC Chiefs players and the Real Madrid legend was captured by Zidane’s social media team.

The pictures were then posted and reposted by @nfl and @nflfrance handles with the caption – “Three World Champs in Miami.” The caption drew immense criticism as fans blasted the NFL’s social media handles for referring to Mahomes and Kelce as World Champions.

 

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Soccer fans take pride in the World Cup and for them, it’s the pinnacle of soccer on earth. Being a World Champ is a very revered accolade in soccer fans’ eyes. Hence, using the terminology to describe Mahomes and Kelce, who with all due respect have been American Champions, did hurt soccer fans.

While it’s a different debate on whether NFL champs should be considered as World Champs due to the high quality and aspiration of the league, the soccer fans do have a point. They hence took to social media to let their frustration known.

Amidst the barrage of attacks from soccer fans, NFL fans came to Mahomes and Kelce’s rescue defending their World Champion tag.

All said and done, apart from the social media trolling, the Miami Grand Prix was a breezy affair with the best of American celebrities making an appearance.

From Patrick Mahomes to Kevin Durant, The Miami Grand Prix Was A Star-Studded Affair

The Miami Grand Prix was an epic success for Lando Norris as he won his maiden Grand Prix in his career. The McLaren driver overtook Max Verstappen who was the heavy favorite for the win. Having won four of the first five races of the season so far, not many expected the Red Bull star to lose.

But a lucky break for Norris and a mid-race safety car incident for Max ensured Norris’ lead. The result thus saw Norris lift the trophy with Verstappen second and Leclerc finishing third. Luckily, American sports royalty and celebrities were in herds to witness this iconic moment of Norris.

Apart from Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, the NFL world was also represented by Bengals QB Joe Burrow and Texas DE Myles Garrett. Top NBA stars also made their presence known as Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant were also present at the Grand Prix enhancing rumours of a potential team-up next season.

All said and done, it was a brilliant day for sports with an underdog victory, a social media fan war and celebrities galore!

Post Edited By: Shubham Bhargav
Patrick Mahomes Travis Kelce zinedine zidane

About the author

Suresh Menon

Suresh Menon is an NFL writer at The SportsRush with over 700 articles to his name. Early in his childhood, Suresh grew up admiring the famed BBC of Juventus making the Italian club his favorite. His love for soccer however soon translated to American football when he came across a Super Bowl performance from his Favourite Bruno Mars. Tom Brady’s performance in the finals left an imprint on him and since then, he has been a die hard Brady fan. Thus his love for the sport combined with his flair for communication is the reason why he decided to pursue sports journalism at The SportsRush. Beyond football, in his free time, he is a podcast host and likes spending time solving the Rubik’s cube.

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