It’s a classic sports story: we root for the plucky underdog, who climbs the mountain, wins everything, and then wins it all again. Soon, the applause fades, and the champion is the team everyone wants to beat. This is the same cycle that is currently affecting the Kansas City Chiefs, who were previously hailed for shaking up the league but are now facing a wave of “anyone but them” emotion.

For the past couple of years, Patrick Mahomes and defensive tackle Chris Jones have been at the heart of this domination. Jones, the unbreakable pillar of the Chiefs’ defense, has been a relentless force in the trenches, shaping the franchise’s golden period. The Pro Bowler has witnessed the team’s ascent from promising competitors to the NFL’s most feared dynasty, winning Lombardi Trophies along the way. However, with each victory, he has sensed a shift, a bittersweet reality in which the same success that once gave acclaim is now fueling growing resentment. Jones recently decided to address that feeling.

In a recent video posted by ESPN’s official Instagram account with the caption “Chris Jones doesn’t understand why people want to see the Chiefs’ downfall,” the defensive tackle spoke candidly about the growing hostility he feels from fans toward Kansas City’s continued success. “It was just like the Patriots—pleased to be so loved, you know what I mean? Everybody was like, ‘Yeah, Chiefs won!’ But now everybody’s like, ‘I’m tired of the Chiefs winning; somebody else needs to win.’ Then you hear the comments, and I’m like, ‘Man, it feels like the Chiefs are being treated differently,’” Jones said. Visibly disappointed, he went on: “God knows why everybody is waiting for our downfall. It’s become a norm now.”

This is not the first time a team has faced the “love to hate” syndrome from fans. Dominant teams in practically every sport are eventually portrayed as villains. One of the most obvious instances occurred during the NFL’s unprecedented winning streak, which saw the New England Patriots win six Super Bowls in just eighteen years. Both their ongoing success and well-known scandals, like Spygate (2007) and Deflategate (2015), fed their villain narrative. Talking about villain narratives, this is not the first time that KCC’s DE Crish Jones has been vocal about people hating on his team for winning.

Following the Chiefs’ two straight Super Bowl victories and three straight appearances, Chris Jones has spoken with Michael Robinson of NFL Media about the criticism of their performance. “Everyone used to love us for some reason. ‘We’re ready for the Chiefs to lose,’ everyone says now. I have no idea why. But it’s all right, they can keep hating,” he continued. Jones, who is renowned for confronting rumors and disputes head-on, recently addressed weight-gain allegations in a podcast appearance.

Chris Jones Clears the Air on His Weight Gain Rumors

With the 2025 season approaching, murmurs from training camp suggested Jones was carrying a little more weight. Instead of ignoring the discussion, the 6-foot-6 defensive tackle addressed it immediately in an interview with Kay Adams on the Up & Adams Show.

He explained to Adams that he now weighs roughly 295 pounds after years of playing closer to 285-290 pounds and that the difference is due to extra muscle and different training techniques such as Pilates. Jones talked on: “People forget when you put on pads, you’re adding about 10 pounds. That’s just football weight, not my weight.”

Jones has never been recognized as a skinny defensive lineman; instead, he relies on his massive frame to dominate opponents, which, along with his quickness, makes for a dangerous combination for opposing offensive lines to deal with. In the podcast, he underlined that his offseason approach actually resulted in weight loss, despite how things appear on film.