After leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl victory, Patrick Mahomes confirms that one of the offensive plays was inspired by Pokemon. Pokemon has transcended the medium since Pokemon Red and Blue were first released in 1996, influencing movies, music, scientific discoveries, and even this Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl play.
Because Pokemon is a franchise that has been going strong since the 90s, many of the millions of fans have celebrated their love for the games in their own fields of work. Pokemon isn't the only series that has influenced things beyond gaming either, with games like RuneScape, Animal Crossing, and World of Warcraft also having positive real-world implications.
During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Patrick Mahomes went over various aspects of the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Arizona for Super Bowl LVII. When asked about a play in which the offensive players circled around lineman Nick Allegretti after completing a huddle, which was an effort to disguise the receiver, the Kansas City quarterback confirmed the play was practiced multiple times, and it was fittingly called "'gotta catch 'em all." Although the sleight of hand in the play failed to protect right tackle Andrew Wylie and the team didn't break the red zone for a touchdown, it appeared chaotic enough to work under lighter circumstances than the Super Bowl.
According to Patrick Mahomes, Nick Allegretti is a big collector like so many other fans of Pokemon, and the Kansas City Chiefs wanted to appeal to that with the "Pikachu formation." The play was seemingly created to make the other team assume that Allegretti would be the receiver, but the Chiefs actually intended to get the ball to Andrew Wylie. Because the play wasn't effective at doing what it was designed to do, Mahomes ended up throwing the ball out of bounds in order to avoid a potential interception.
While they failed to secure the score that they needed to win the Super Bowl with this gotta catch 'em all play, the Kansas City Chiefs ended up defeating the Philadelphia Eagles by three points. Although this play didn't lead to a successful touchdown or gain in yardage, the creative formation was one of the most memorable moves in recent years.
