Brotherly Love: Kelces prepare for Super Bowl showdown | www.elmarko.net

1 month ago

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer

Donna Kelce is going to person to propulsion retired that now-familiar customized jersey — the 1 with Kansas City Chiefs choky extremity Travis Kelce’s beforehand stitched to Philadelphia Eagles halfway Jason Kelce’s backmost — 1 much clip this season.

At slightest this time, she’ll get to spot her boys successful person.

For the archetypal clip successful Super Bowl history, a brace of siblings volition play each different connected the NFL’s grandest stage. Travis Kelce helped the Chiefs instrumentality to their 3rd title crippled successful 4 seasons connected Sunday nighttime erstwhile they bushed the Bengals for the AFC title, portion Jason has the Eagles backmost for the 2nd clip successful six years aft their NFC rubric triumph implicit the 49ers.

“Cool script to beryllium in, you know?” Travis Kelce said. “My ma can’t lose.”

Or possibly can’t win.

Indeed, determination person been plentifulness of celebrated NFL siblings implicit the years, and galore had immoderate memorable matchups: Peyton vs. Eli Manning, Tiki vs. Ronde Barber. But they ne'er reached the aforesaid Super Bowl, oregon had to enactment their beloved aged ma successful specified a predicament, wherever 1 volition beryllium hoisting the Lombardi Trophy astatine the different one’s expense.

“It’s going to beryllium an astonishing feeling playing against him,” added Travis, whose squad has gotten the amended of large brother’s Eagles the past 3 matchups. “I respect everyone implicit determination successful the Eagles organization. You won’t spot maine speech excessively overmuch trash due to the fact that of however overmuch I emotion my brother. But it’s going to beryllium an affectional game, for sure.”

Jason Kelce was adjacent ever-so-briefly a Chiefs instrumentality Sunday night, pulling connected a Kansas City sweatshirt for astir the 3 hours betwixt the extremity of the Eagles’ 31-7 rout of San Francisco and the decorativeness of his small brother’s 23-20 triumph implicit Cincinnati.

“That’s it for the remainder of the year,” Jason said with a smile. “I americium done being a Chiefs fan.”

He’ll permission that to ma and dad.

While her husband, Ed, has mostly kept backstage implicit the years, Donna has been a fixture arsenic she crisscrosses the state to ticker her boys. During wild-card play past year, she started successful Tampa Bay watching the Eagles against the Buccaneers, past hopped a level to Kansas City successful clip to ticker the Chiefs play the Steelers astatine night.

She already has seen some of her sons triumph Super Bowls, too: The Eagles bushed the Patriots successful 2018 successful Minneapolis, and the Chiefs rallied to bushed the 49ers successful Miami 2 years later.

She hasn’t seen overmuch of them lately, though. The mode the playoff docket worked retired for the divisional circular and the league title games, it was intolerable for Donna to marque it to spot some of her boys successful person.

In immoderate case, they’ve travel a agelong mode from their solidly middle-class upbringing successful Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Jason blazed the way arsenic the prima violative lineman who earned a assistance to Cincinnati, and Travis soon followed suit. Both caught the eyes of NFL scout during their assemblage careers, and of 1 manager successful particular: Andy Reid.

It was Big Red who, portion coaching the Eagles, utilized a sixth-round prime connected Jason during the 2011 draft. And 2 years later, aft Reid had gotten a caller commencement successful Kansas City, the Chiefs utilized a third-rounder to bring Travis into the fold.

“Big member astir apt protected Travis from doing immoderate brainsick things. He astir apt talked him from dropping disconnected a ladder into raked-up leaves erstwhile oregon twice,” Reid said Monday. “Listen, they’re some astatine bosom precise competitory and compassionate, is the biggest thing. They attraction and they attraction astir radical and they attraction astir they’re game.”

They besides hap to beryllium precise bully astatine it.

Jason has been to six Pro Bowls and was conscionable voted an All-Pro for the 5th time, and he’s emerged arsenic 1 of the champion violative linemen successful Eagles history. Travis has been to 8 Pro Bowls, conscionable made a 4th All-Pro squad and is 2nd successful NFL past to Jerry Rice successful playoff catches, yards and touchdowns.

Football’s not the lone happening they’re bully at, either.

The brothers person caller a podcast called “New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce,” which takes listeners connected a riotous, real-time thrust done the NFL season. The play shows are recorded connected Tuesdays and past betwixt 60 and 90 minutes, the 2 NFL stars playing disconnected each different arsenic if they were hanging retired successful mom’s basement.

Special guests person included Eagles backmost Jalen Hurts and Chiefs counterpart Patrick Mahomes.

“They person a bully mesh there, and a bully relationship,” Reid said. “I deliberation Travis has grown up a lot. Jason astir apt came successful a spot much mature — Travis was a small immature. But he’s truly grown into a bully person.

“I person invested clip successful some of those two,” Reid added, “so I consciousness similar a portion of the family.”

Source metrophiladelphia