Poll: Have 2020s Chiefs eclipsed 2010s Pats in national hate?

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." It's a line uttered by Aaron Eckhart's character Harvey Dent in the 2008 film The Dark Knight that has to resonate with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs today, 17 years later.

As KC get ready to play in their 7th-straight AFC title game, the country has turned on Chiefs Kingdom.

Six years ago, they were the breath of fresh air in the NFL. The challengers to the mighty New England Patriots, who could finally knock the Pats from their 2-decade perch atop the NFL. Now, after all the AFC Conference Championships, four Super Bowl appearances, three titles and the quest for the league's first-ever three-peat, Chiefs fatigue is running rampant across the ole U S of A.

We asked back in November, "do you have Cheifs fatigue?" to which 68% percent answered yes. Based on online sentiment since KC's Divisional Round win vs. Houston, aided by several flagrant Chiefs-slanted calls from the referees, that figure has only grown.

This is a graphic from Jan. 13, 2019, prior to the New England @ Kansas City AFC Championship Game...

This week, the graphics making the rounds look like this...

That's what winning does, it turns the masses against you. Especially when it's done in the way Kansas City has managed this season, getting bailed out by the refs whenever the game seems in doubt.

Say what you will about New England's run, but the NFL was actively trying to make it more difficult on the Pats from SpyGate to DeflateGate to even that dumb incident in Cincinnati that robbed the organization of a first round pick.

It seems in the NFL's eyes, this Chiefs team can do no wrong. Plus, when they do the zebras are there to the rescue.