By CNN
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The Kansas City Chiefs are on the cusp of greatness and will be considered a dynasty if they win another Super Bowl on Sunday, retired four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski told CNN.
“They are that close to a dynasty. If they win this game, I would say they are a dynasty,” Gronkowski said.
“Even if they lose and they won a Super Bowl next year, I would say they’re a dynasty. They just got to get that third Super Bowl win over a decade,” he noted.
Now an analyst for Fox Sports, Gronkowski points out that this particular Super Bowl, held for the first time in Las Vegas, adds an unprecedented number of distractions for the players that may impact Sunday’s result.
“There’s always a lot of distractions, always a lot of hype. But now, it’s in Vegas, so it’s a double whammy. It’s a distraction that no one’s ever seen before,” he told CNN Sport’s Coy Wire. Fans will descend on the state-of-the-art Allegiant Stadium, aka the “Death Star,” on Sunday to watch the Kansas City Chiefs face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII.
“Just being in the Vegas atmosphere, you can’t even sleep. Even if you’re staying sober, I swear. Like, you’re just fricking, like, energized,” Gronkowski, a former tight end who played in the league for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers over 11 seasons, explained.
“Hopefully, the players are off the Strip, so they’re not dealing with that type of energy. Just stay calm, stick to your routine. Hopefully, everyone can just survive the week. Get an IV, drink a lot of water, drink a lot of electrolytes as well. Enjoy the time,” he advised.
Taking center stage are Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes – a partnership Gronkowski called “one of the best quarterback – tight end connections in the league.”
Since being drafted by the Chiefs in 2017, the 28-year-old Mahomes has already made three Super Bowl appearances, winning twice and losing once.
He is now set to play in his fourth and has the chance to lead his team to back-to-back Vince Lombardi Trophies.
“They’ve been building that connection since day one that they became teammates … And they just keep building on it. They’re amping up their game. They’re amping up their level of play every single year, week in and week out. And that’s why they’re staying at the top,” Gronkowski explained.
Gronkowski added that while the Chiefs are undoubtedly under pressure, “they’ve been there in these big moments so many times that they know how to handle the pressure.
“You can just tell by the way they talk to the media, the way they carry themselves, the way that they just prepare week in and week out and the way they show up every single week out on the field, they can handle the pressure.”
CNN’s Ben Morse contributed reporting.
