Family reunion for Kelce brothers in Kansas City
PHILADELPHIA » Eagles center Jason Kelce appreciates the touchdown celebrations performed by his younger brother Travis, the Pro Bowl tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Whether it’s the Shmoney Dance, the Ric Flair or the Donkey Kong Punch, among others, Jason rates them while his offensive line mates break them down.
“Jason likes to talk about the goofy stuff Travis does as far as all that,” offensive tackle Lane Johnson said. “His brother is just a character. We laugh about that stuff. Jason laughs, too. You can see he’s proud of his brother.”
Jason Kelce, a couple of months from age 30, has made himself scarce this week as he prepares to face his two-yearyounger brother for the first time, along with the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday.
It’s not a good time to be talking about celebrations. Not when your spot in the locker room is directly across from the linebackers, who are preparing for Travis Kelce.
“They did the top 10 best dance celebrations last year and he was in there,” linebacker Najee Goode said. “If we mess anybody up, we’re doing his dance. But you’ve got to be smart about it.”
Goode and linebacker Nigel Bradham, the Eagles’ enforcer, are respectful of Travis Kelce, whose speed is almost as impressive as his hands. They don’t appreciate being celebrated on.
“He ain’t doing none of that,” Bradham said of Kelce.
Travis Kelce, obviously, will have something to say about that Sunday. If blood is thicker than water, he’ll be sky-high for the family showdown attended by the Kelce parents. They watched the boys blossom, Jason into a 290-pound pivot selected in the sixth round of the 2011 draft, Travis into a 6-6 weapon taken off the board in the third round of the 2013 lottery.
“I’m not going to say we get into it and put wagers down (on) it and all this and that but we have fun with it,” Travis said of the rivalry that began when they were kids. “Literally, everything that you could think of we turned into some sort of game, some sort of competition. Just around the house. Every single day was a new challenge trying to beat my brother in anything. It’s definitely made me an athlete and the competitive player I am today.
“We would go from playing mini hockey sticks where we ended up turning the entire basement into an arena … to the backyard. I mean we’d play handball and use a part of the house as a home run or a single, a double or a triple. Just little things like that. Whoever got the remote first got to pick which channels we watched. Whoever got to the Xbox first when we got home got to pick which game we were playing. It was just little competitions like that in everything that you do.”
Jason typically won those competitions while they were younger. As they aged, Travis’ athletic ability showed up.
Travis followed Jason to play football at the University of Cincinnati. When Travis broke team regulations resulting in a one-year suspension, Jason showed him the way — again.
“Just being a guy I could lean on,” Travis said. “He was right there when I was suspended to say I’m going to show you how to do things the right way. Sure enough, when he went to the NFL I knew that it worked.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid drafted Jason Kelce with the Eagles, coached him for two years and appreciates the way he gets after the game. Reid has helped Travis Kelce control the fiery temper that erupts when stuff just doesn’t quite go right. Like last year when Travis was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, threw a towel at the head of the official to simulate the penalty marker that wasn’t tossed, and was booted from a game.
“They’re completely different,” Reid said adding that Travis is “a live wire. His brother (Jason) is very stoic, not that he doesn’t have a sense of humor. But they’re just completely different guys. But both have very good, big hearts, love to play the game and are tremendous players.”
Life is coming full circle for the Kelces, who also played at Cleveland Heights High, and their parents. The moment they waited for is almost at hand. The Eagles and the Chiefs both won their season openers. The Kelce showdown is a warm and fuzzy people piece.
The good thing for the Kelce parents is their boys won’t be on the playing field at the same time for any extended time. That could get ugly, based on competitive instincts.
“I think they’re going to wear jerseys split right down the middle,” Travis said. “One side Eagles and one side Chiefs. It’s going to be hard. But it sounds like they’re just going to just be cheering for the offense no matter what way they go.”