“Kelce Bowl” buzz descended on Phoenix, Arizona, as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce prepare to make history on Sunday when they become the first brothers to play each other in the Super Bowl.
At the Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday, where throngs of fans packed the Footprint Center, the fraternal fracas was on the tip of every reporter’s tongue.
“It’s a special moment,” said Travis Kelce, who helped the Chiefs to the championship three years ago. “It’s something that, obviously, we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.”
Photo: Cheryl Evans-USA TODAY
The pair have each already enjoyed enviable tenures in the NFL, which could help soften the blow when one of them inevitably walks out of State Farm Stadium on the losing side.
The 33-year-old Travis Kelce has earned eight Pro Bowl selections and is a bona fide media darling for his rakish charm and on-field heroics.
Jason Kelce, by comparison, enjoys a smaller spotlight as an offensive lineman, but has earned six Pro Bowl nods and helped Philadelphia to the Lombardi Trophy five years ago.
Photo: Cheryl Evans-USA TODAY
“He’s got more Pro Bowls, he’s going in the Hall of Fame as a first ballot, arguably the best tight end of all time, he’s better looking, he’s better at dancing,” Jason Kelce, 35, said. “Give me one thing, Trav: Let me have more Super Bowls.”
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, the pair dreamed that they might play in the Super Bowl together — of course, in their childhood fantasy, they were playing on the same team.
“We both realize that — for somebody — it’s not going to go well,” Jason Kelce said.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I think we’re both still rooting for each other,” he added. “I feel like you can’t help but do that. I might not be rooting for the Chiefs, but I’m always rooting for Travis.”
Their mother, Donna Kelce, has made clear she would not pick sides, appearing on Monday at the Super Bowl media blitz in a combined Eagles-Chiefs jersey.
She also surprised her sons during an interview with NFL Network’s Michael Irvin with two batches of cookies — one for each.
“It’s just been amazing that they’ve both been able to get to this point in their careers and both enjoy the Super Bowl together,” she said. “It’s just so amazing.”
She became a minor celebrity as she crisscrossed the country to watch her boys, and more than 150,000 fans signed a petition for the NFL to have her do the Super Bowl coin toss, but she wrote in a social media post that the NFL already had someone in place.
Additional reporting by AP
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