By CNN
—
It was footage that quickly became a meme, but Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid laughed off his spat with tight end Travis Kelce during the team’s 25-22 Super Bowl win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Angered that Reid had taken him out of the game during the first half, Kelce pushed the 65-year-old so hard on the sideline that the Chiefs head coach momentarily lost his balance, while the tight end continued to shout in his face.
Kelce was eventually pulled away by teammate Jerick McKinnon.
“He keeps me young,” Reid laughed on CBS’ post-game show. “He tested that hip out. He caught me off balance – normally, I’d give him a little bit, but I didn’t have any feet under me.”
Reid later reiterated in his post-match press conference that he only stumbled because Kelce caught him off balance, adding that it just shows the tight end’s desire to win.
“The part I love is that he loves to play the game and he wants to help his team win,” Reid told reporters. “It’s not a selfish thing, that’s not what it is, and I understand that.
“So as much as he bumps into me, I get after him and we understand that.”
Kelce told ESPN after the game that he was going to keep what was said “between us” and joked that he was just telling Reid “how much I love him.”
“I got the greatest coach this game has ever seen,” Kelce told reporters after the game. “He’s unbelievable at not only dialing up plays and having everybody prepared, but he’s one of the best leaders of men I’ve ever seen in my life.
“He’s helped me a lot with that, with channeling that emotion, with channeling that passion and I owe my entire career to that guy and being able to kind of control how emotional I get.
“I just love him, man.”
Of course, as the internet is wont to do, the moment was turned into a meme almost instantly.
X, formerly known as Twitter, users posted the photo to express loud ‘disputes’ involving everything from Tony Stark’s first Iron Man suit to the title of the witches in the Wizard of Oz.
