Chris Jones cries before kickoff? Kansas City Chiefs fans say it’s a good sign: npr

The New Orleans between the flutes is Kansas City Defensive Tackle Chris Jones a terror on the football field that is able to change the result of a game on their own.

But TV cameras and social media have noticed a softer side of the big man: As Kansas City’s recent playoffs have brought chiefs to the Super Bowl for three even years, Jones has become known for throwing tears At emotional moments – Especially during the national anthem.

And he’s not shy about it. In media performance ahead of this week’s Super Bowl, Jones has taken a running trick.

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“As you know, I get emotional during the game. I am an emotional guy. I carry my feelings on my sleeve,” he told journalists, smiling as he adopted the celebrity pitchman — imbilling. “Fortunately, I have my partners kleenex here with me. So when I have a tear that falls down, I can take a kleenex and wipe it off and continue.” (Kleenex’s parent company did not respond to a request for comment.)

Kansas City fans have come to see Jones’ tear-colored cheeks Under the hymn As a happy sign of the game to follow. And it’s hard to contest that theory: Chiefs have not lost an endgame since the 2022 season, and Jones has been an important part of the team’s success.

Over the past three years, Jones has been named AP All-Pro First Team each season and logged a total of 34.5 sacks and almost 100 quarterback hits. At six foot-sex and 310 pounds, he is a physically scary presence on the field.

“You never see an adult man, especially in that size, crying,” said Rookie teammate Jaden Hicks. “But it’s an emotional game, especially for him.”

Jones’ teammates who see him when the cameras are nowhere near – in the dressing room, on practice, out of the clock – says uniform Jones has a lively personality, always quickly with a laugh or smile.

“He has never had a bad day. He always seems to be in a big mood,” said defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. “In the football game, having a guy as passionate as Chris is huge. And I think other guys live by it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fyyhjeb38k

From the moment He embraced NFL commissioner Roger Goodell With a bear clamp after being prepared by Chiefs in 2016, Jones has been demonstrative with his feelings. But the tears on the field are a recent development, he acknowledges. Jones, who is now 30 years old, attributed it to getting older.

“I think it’s comfortable in your skin to understand that other opinions don’t matter,” he said. “As athletes and as men, I think it is sometimes challenging to be so vulnerable, especially in front of the world.”

He is one of only five players who have been with Kansas City throughout Chiefs’ remarkable seven-year races. Sunday’s game will be his fifth Super Bowl performance.

For Jones, the national anthem has become a chance to pause and reflect on his path to the NFL.

He grew up in Houston, Miss., A rural city of about 3,000 inhabitants. His mother worked 12-hour shifts as a nurse to provide for Jones and his two younger sisters. And for a while, his entire big family lived together in his grandmother’s modest home where he slept on the couch.

Now he is in his ninth NFL season. Last year he signed a contract of $ 159 million. He has been a pro bowler six times. And of course there are these three Super Bowl rings – and a fourth on the line on Sunday.

“Whether it was a year or year nine, I’m super appreciated and super humble about being here. And emotions are going to flow,” he said.

This level of success could make another player complacent, said Chief’s defensive end George Karlaftis. But watching Jones so moved has been an inspiration, he said.

“When a guy has had all that success … and this very passion, and (they) show that they carry it on the sleeve, you can’t help but have it too,” Karlaftis said.