Arizona Cardinals LB Isaiah Simmons is getting a chance to live out a dream in Week 1.
A native of Olathe, Kansas and an Olathe North Eagle alum, Simmons grew up as a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, he says many of his friends and family members are still big fans of the team and they’ve been giving him a bit of grief ahead of the season opener.
“Everybody is a Chiefs fan in Kansas, so my dad’s friends they’ve all been calling them,” Simmons said. “My brother’s friends, my friends — I’ve been converting them to becoming Cardinals fans. They still like the Chiefs a little bit, but slowly I’ve got to work them in.”
Simmons clearly has some more work to do there given the grief he’s seemingly received. He says most of the talk has been centered around star QB Patrick Mahomes.
“Pat’s — that’s their baby,” Simmons said. “And I don’t blame them, that’s a phenomenal quarterback, but Pat (Mahomes) he’s definitely the fan favorite back in Kansas City. So, I’ve been hearing a lot of, ‘Please take it easy on him.'”
Simmons won’t be taking it easy on Mahomes. In fact, he’ll be working to make his life as miserable as possible on Sunday afternoon.
It’s an exciting opportunity to play against his hometown team. He does wish one thing were different about the Week 1 matchup and I’m sure it’s something that Chiefs fans can relate to.
“I kind of wish we were playing in Arrowhead, that’d be like my whole childhood right there,” Simmons said. “But it’s definitely really cool. I’ve got a lot of people coming to support, so I am really excited to open the season against them.”
