Jason Kelce did not have fun watching the Super Bowl: ‘It felt like I couldn’t be right’
With longtime teammates on one side and his brother Travis on the other, the former Eagles center was torn on Sunday.
Brother vs. brother games are always a bit awkward, but especially so when it’s the Super Bowl.
On the latest episode of New Heights, Jason Kelce got emotional sharing how challenging it was for him to watch Super Bowl LIX, wanting the best for both his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, and his former Eagles teammates and friends.
“I did not anticipate it being that hard,” Jason said.
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Jason retired last offseason after playing 13 NFL seasons, all with the Eagles, including starting during the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win in 2018. The Kelce brothers faced off in Super Bowl LVII, which Travis and the Chiefs won. But now, with Jason on the sidelines watching from afar, the emotions were different.
“On one hand, you played your entire life with an organization and team,” Jason said. “A lot of people in that building — coaches, friends, teammates — that you’ve gone through adversity with, and it really makes you very, very close. And then on the other hand, you have your brother, and I’ve always supported you. I’ve always wanted you to win.”
Travis said Jason made his support clear to him, but fans were disappointed by Jason’s statements — he wasn’t supporting Philly enough, or he wasn’t supporting Travis enough.
“It felt like I couldn’t be right,” Jason said. “It felt like no matter what I said, some people were gonna skew it and say that I’m rooting for the Eagles, and some people were gonna skew it and say that I was rooting for the Chiefs or Travis. And it sucks.”
Jason and his wife, Kylie, live just outside Philly and are still involved with the organization. Kylie works with the Eagles Autism Foundation and Jason, while he doesn’t have an actual title with the team, spent significant time at the Linc as part of his role with ESPN, tailgating with Eagles fans ahead of the NFC championship game.
“We are still very much attached to this organization, which is why there is part of me that obviously is very happy and proud that they have won this game,” Jason said. “But that does not take precedence over rooting for you. And that’s why this game sucked. It was very, very hard to watch.”