The Kelce Bowl is More than Just Brothers Jason and Travis
PHILADELPHIA – It’s already been touted by some as the Kelce Bowl, with brothers Jason and Travis Kelce set to be the first brother act whose teams will play each other in a Super Bowl.
There have been several NFL brother acts, such as Payton and Eli Manning, and Tiki and Ronde Barber, but none that has ever played against each other in the NFL’s biggest game.
And there’s never been a mom of a player in a Super Bowl who has flipped the coin to start the game.
Fans have started a petition to have the brothers’ mother, Donna Kelce, do the honors at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 12.
“I'm nervous about it,” said Jason on Friday when asked about the possibility. “I don't know if she can flip a coin. To be quite honest, I've never seen her do it, but we can give her some coaching, I'm sure.
“That would be pretty cool, but I imagine the NFL has got some awesome options for that as well so we're getting enough publicity in this game that we don't need to keep going that far."
The NFL put Kelce’s mind at ease when it released a statement to FOX4 in Kansas City, saying: “We are big fans of Mrs. Kelce and she will join the NFL at a number of events throughout the week.”
The NFL went on to say that it already has plans for the coin flip.
So Donna Kelce won’t be on the field, presumably, but her nerves, as well as those of her husband and the boys’ father, Ed Kelce, will still be jangling.
“I think it’s always stressful for the people watching,” said Jason. “Not even just parents but coaches. When you don’t have control of what’s happening on the field I think that’s a stressful situation.
“So, I would imagine my parents would probably be the most stressed out any time they’re watching the game.”
The Kelce brothers began a podcast this season called ‘New Heights,’ a venture that brought them closer. The podcast is released on Wednesdays.
“In some ways, I feel like it’s made my brother and I closer – talking every single week,” said Jason. “Normally in the course of a season, you go months without talking to each other at times. You’re so caught up in your own stuff. So yeah, it ended up being a great thing.”
The risk was, what if the Eagles or Chiefs weren’t any good? That would not have been good for podcast ratings among other things, including charges of it being a distraction.
“The big (concern) was if the season goes poorly it’s going to look like a really bad look, right?” said Jason. “Luckily, that hasn’t happened. I think obviously you worry about it being a distraction. You worry about it potentially being viewed as something that’s taking away from your preparation.
“But I think when we really looked at it first of all there’s some other cases that happened. The Draymond Green podcast the year before did really well in the NBA when they won the championship.
“I think all of these things happening probably caused us to say, you know what? We can do this. It kind of quieted those reservations.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
