Bengals star Joe Burrow might not appreciate his father breaking out this photo again.
Jim Burrow, Burrow’s father and a former college football coordinator and position coach, tweeted an image Wednesday morning of the Cincinnati quarterback with his mother, Robin, wearing a Chiefs helmet at a football game.
“Joe watching an Iowa Barnstormer game with his Mom,” Jim Burrow wrote. “Won’t be wearing that helmet Sunday. Who Dey.”
Burrow’s father also posted the same photo ahead of the 2022 AFC Championship game, when the Bengals and Chiefs faced each other, with the caption, “Joe use [sic] to like those shiny red chiefs helmets . Not anymore . Geaux Bengals .”
Jim Burrow’s collection of photos also included one he tweeted in December for Burrow’s 26th birthday, which featured a “Going deep at 2” comment as Burrow mimicked a pass while wearing a Nebraska helmet.
The Barnstormers are an indoor football team that originated as an expansion team in the Arena Football League, beginning with the 1995 season. They were the team that Kurt Warner spent three seasons with after going undrafted in 1994 — and not latching on with a team in training camp, either — before becoming a Super Bowl MVP and two-time NFL MVP.
It’s unclear what year Burrow attended this Barnstormers game, or the stadium where the game occurred, but Burrow was born in 1996 and Jim Burrow coached in Iowa — at Iowa State and then Ames High School — until accepting a job with Nebraska for the 2001 season. He later became the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State for two seasons before joining Ohio’s staff from 2005-2018 and serving as the Bobcats’ defensive coordinator and, for his final two years, associate head coach.
The ties between Joe Burrow and the Chiefs have continued throughout the week leading up to their AFC Championship meeting Sunday. Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton decided to rename Arrowhead Stadium “Burrowhead,” according to ESPN. Travis Kelce then said on an episode of New Heights — a podcast with his brother, Eagles center Jason — that Hilton’s comment turned into “bulletin-board material” for Kansas City.
Burrow holds a 3-0 record against Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in his career, including a 27-24 win in Week 13 where he threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns. He also defeated Mahomes and Kansas City last year in the AFC Championship game, a victory that extended their postseason run to include a Super Bowl berth against the Rams.
The two MVP candidates will face each other again for a chance to meet the Eagles or 49ers in Super Bowl 2023. Burrow threw for 4,475 yards and a career-high 35 touchdowns in his third NFL season.
