Steven Branscombe.Getty Images.

All the greats always had someone they looked up to and emulated as a child. Having an idol is not a bad thing at all. It was what drove them to become the best in the world by letting the greats before them influence their game. Wayne Gretzky had Gordie Howe. Kobe Bryant had Michael Jordan. It’s not just limited to sports – musicians, artists, chefs. Everyone has idols whose influences are clearly evident in their own craft.

Dylan Raiola is one of the best true freshman quarterbacks in the country. If you want to be the best, modeling your game after the best isn’t a bad idea. So it makes sense why this kid wants to copy literally everything Patrick Mahomes does. The look, the number, the pregame ritual.

No. The juxtaposition isn’t “WILD.” It’s just a kid doing a really good imitation of Patrick Mahomes. Long sleeve on the right, short sleeve on the left, the only deduction I’m giving him here is that he had the towel on the wrong side.

However, Dylan Raiola is now trying to claim that this is not an imitation. That he unintentionally became an almost exact copy of Patrick Mahomes by pure chance.

I mean… come on, man. It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid to admit it. Saying you got the haircut in 7th grade isn’t a good excuse for not trying to be a Mahomes clone, considering that would have been 2018. The year Mahomes won his first MVP. And again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to copy your idol’s look as a little kid. That’s pretty damn normal. What’s not normal is doing all that and then pretending it was pure coincidence.

Advertising

The only benefit of the doubt I’m giving him here is that we all have those friends whose personality and appearance completely change depending on who they spend the most time with. Maybe you have a buddy who studied abroad and then came back with an accent. Maybe you have a buddy who completely changed because of the girl he was dating. It’s literally obvious to everyone else that they’ve changed, but they don’t realize it over time. So maybe we have a case of that here, but the poor boy would still benefit from having someone in his life to tell him to cut the shit and just admit it.

@JordieBarstool