Steven Nelson surely hopes his 27th birthday is more enjoyable than his 26th.
Nelson was bounced from the NFL playoffs on Jan. 20 — just two days before his birthday — when the New England Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game to set up a date with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII.
The Chiefs’ loss was disappointing on many levels for Nelson, a Georgia native who would’ve relished the opportunity to face the Rams in front of his family and friends at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. And because of that, there was no way the cornerback could’ve rooted for the Patriots in Super Bowl LIII, even though he’s willing to tip his cap to New England for its thrilling AFC championship victory and its ensuing Super Bowl triumph.
“I was like, screw the Patriots, because we should’ve been in the Super Bowl,” Nelson said, rather playfully, when asked recently on FS1’s “Fair Game” whether he could pull for the Patriots after losing to them in the AFC Championship Game. “Kudos to them for making it, but I wanted the Rams to win (Super Bowl LIII).”
Really, who could blame Nelson?
While the 2015 third-round pick can take solace in knowing his Chiefs fell to the eventual Super Bowl champions, who just so happen to be led by arguably the greatest quarterback (Tom Brady) and head coach (Bill Belichick) in NFL history, the events of late January and early February still stung.
“I’m moving on, but it kind of hurt me for maybe a week,” Nelson said. “It didn’t help because that was my birthday week. So it was like, ‘Man, come on.’ I wanted to go to the Super Bowl, and I’m from Atlanta and the Super Bowl was in Atlanta. It’s all good, though.”
Nelson signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency this offseason after spending his first four seasons with the Chiefs. That means he could get another crack at New England at some point despite switching teams, as the Patriots and Steelers have been frequent combatants atop the AFC standings in recent years.
