Showing Kansas City Chiefs fans doing the Tomahawk Chop is already something that feels out of step with modern times. Showing German Chiefs fans doing the Tomahawk Chop adds a layer that makes things uncomfortable in a way that’s almost hard to describe. Still, Fox showed just that during their Super Bowl LVII broadcast.
As Fox returned from a commercial during the second half of the Super Bowl battle between the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, the network showed fans in various parts of the world cheering on their favorite NFL teams. Eventually, they arrived in Munich, Germany where Chiefs fans were seen doing The Chop while watching the game.
Germans doing the Tomahawk Chop is certainly a thing that Fox could choose to broadcast. pic.twitter.com/ZYNwrx6On6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 13, 2023
Native American groups in America have been protesting the use of The Chop, and the franchise’s name itself, as American sports fans have grappled in recent years with professional teams that use words and iconography considered, at best, out of touch, and at worst, racist. There’s been a lot of discussion in recent weeks about whether or not the franchise will move on from its moniker and traditions, much like the Cleveland Guardians and Washington Commanders did.
So there’s already a cringe factor that comes with seeing groups of Chiefs fans, often predominantly made up of white people, doing The Chop. But when you incorporate Germans, and that country’s, um, history, well, it creates a visual that rubbed a lot of NFL viewers the wrong way.
CHIEFS VIEWING PARTY IN MUNICH LOOKING PRETTY NOPE TO ME
— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) February 13, 2023
https://twitter.com/chiweethegod/status/1624959877981536259
Do not do the chop. But especially do not do the chop in Munich.
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) February 13, 2023
To make the point about how global the SB is, they just cut to a bunch of Germans watching in Munich doing the Tomahawk chop)
Yes. a bunch of Germans extending their right arms in racist exaltation.
— The LeBron James of Pig Feet. (@GeeDee215) February 13, 2023
Teaching the tomahawk chop to the Germans seems like a historically unwise decision.
— Adam Jacobi (@adam_jacobi) February 13, 2023
FOX just showed fans in Munich, Germany doing the Tomahawk chop.
WTF. #SuperBowl— Shireen Ahmed (@_shireenahmed_) February 13, 2023
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.