Newspaper clip of young Patrick Mahomes picking the Eagles to win the Super Bowl goes viral

PHOENIX — On Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is going to do everything he can to defeat the Eagles and win his second Super Bowl.

But nearly 20 years ago, a young Mahomes was pulling for the Birds.

In 2005, after having lost three straight NFC championship games, the Eagles finally made it to the Super Bowl by routing the Atlanta Falcons. Ahead of their Super Bowl XXXIX matchup against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, the Tyler Morning Telegraph rounded up predictions from local residents.

Mahomes, then 9 years old, made the top of the list with a simple reason why he thought Philly would win.

“Eagles are a better team,” Mahomes told the newspaper, in a clip that has since gone viral on Twitter ahead of Super Bowl LVII.

But Mahomes’ prediction didn’t come true, and the Eagles lost to the Patriots, 24-21, in a game made famous by Donovan McNabb’s phantom vomit. The Eagles got revenge against Brady and Patriots in 2018, defeating New England, 41-33, to win the franchise’s first Super Bowl.

Thursday night, Mahomes beat out Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts to win the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award. The two will make NFL history Sunday when they become the first Black quarterbacks to face off in the Super Bowl.

“Obviously, the Black quarterback has had to battle to be in this position that we are to have this many guys in the league playing,” Mahomes told the New York Times. “Every day, we’re proving that we should have been playing the whole time.”

Mahomes was listed as a full participant during practice Thursday, and his workload wasn’t altered by the high ankle sprain he suffered during the Chiefs’ divisional round win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

“We just put him in and let him rip. He feels good,” Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said Thursday, according to poll reports. “I mean, I’ll check with him. I’m not telling you I don’t check with him. He’s been good.”