“Fulfilling Your Worst Fears”
Kelce brothers’ rivalry rouses Super Bowl mom
By David Needy, Phoenix
02/11/2023 11:31 am
They make history in the Super Bowl: With Travis and Jason, two brothers face each other for the first time in the NFL final. Her childhood is marked by rivalry. Mother Donna becomes a super fan through crazy actions – and fears the loser’s tears.
What a great NFL Sunday. Two brothers who made it to the top football league. And right in the middle her mother. A year ago, Donna Kelce wanted to attend both her sons’ playoff games during wild card weekend – and she made the impossible possible. First, the mother watches the Philadelphia Eagles away game with her older offspring, Jason, at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Stadium. She then hops on a plane and flies nearly 1,300 miles to Kansas City, where four hours later the Chiefs will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in the night game. Travis, who is two years his junior, is involved there. Despite traffic jams and flight delays, Donna makes it just in time for the second half.
Another big NFL Sunday is coming up this weekend. The biggest in the Kelce family, in fact. And Mama Donna, who is now known throughout the league herself, has far less travel stress: Because this time Travis and Jason are going against each other in the Super Bowl. Such a brother duel in the final has never happened before in the best league in the world. And of course the entire football world is spinning because of this historical dimension.
Travis is better known. He’s the superstar, the Chiefs’ outstanding tight end, who regularly takes and catches passes from quarterback Patrick Mahomes with arms like cartoon character Mr. Elastic (check). The 33-year-old is 196 centimeters tall and 116 kilograms heavy athletic freak – and extremely “flashy”, as the Americans say. Travis always has a lighthearted saying and likes to be in the public eye. Party with rap stars like Post Malone. Even had a short-lived TV dating show called “Catching Kelce” and is not only known as a football star, but also through stories in “GQ” magazine or the gossip TV network TMZ. In the past he was often punished for excessive cheering or humiliating gestures on the lawn, but he has now matured into a model professional and won the second Super Bowl for the Kelce family with the Chiefs in 2020.
“Even fists flew”
Brother Jason plays a less spectacular position as a center, but has since blossomed into one of the best men on the offensive lines (who protect the quarterback) in the league. As a former linebacker, he knows exactly how the opposing defense acts and is usually one step ahead. In 2011 he was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the draft with then-coach Andy Reid, who now coaches brother Travis. In 2018 he won the team’s first Super Bowl ring for the Kelce family. The 35-year-old is calmer, more down-to-earth. He avoids the headlights. Only with great persuasion from Travis does he appear twice briefly on his dating show. On the field, however, Jason is just as goal-oriented as his brother, but at the same time – also in terms of position – more selfless.
Together they are two of the most successful brothers in NFL history. Both are regular participants in both the playoffs and the Pro Bowl for the best player of the year. What they have in common is that they sacrifice themselves unconditionally for the sport and act as leaders. They love their respective cities for it. Worship her. Travis and Jason also share this love, coupled with brotherly rivalry, with each other. Because both know that without their brother they would not be where they are now. At the top. Almost back on the football throne.
Even as children in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, in the American Midwest, they are sometimes teammates and often rivals. “There were a lot of fights back then,” Mother Donna once said. “Fists even flew.” The older Jason was physically two years ahead of Travis, who was struggling with it, and was better at football, basketball, or baseball. But when Travis fails a drug test in college and is dropped from the team, it’s his brother who backs him up and persuades the coaches to bring him back on the team. Two years later, in 2013, Travis was drafted by the Chiefs – and again by Coach Reid – in the third round.
Brothers learn from each other
The brothers are not only busy writing their own history. Recent NFL history would be very different were it not for the quirks of the Kelce football gene. In 2018, while the sports world watched backup quarterback Nick Foles’ rise to fame in Super Bowl LII, it was Jason’s brutal precision against the Patriots’ defensive system that had Foles’ back. Two years later, Travis played a similarly crucial – and disproportionately telegeneric – role for the Chiefs as they became the first team to make three consecutive double-digit comebacks en route to the championship. Again and again, the tight end took command in the middle of the field, caught countless passes from quarterback Patrick Mahomes and provided touchdowns and rooms for the running backs. In general, Mahomes’ strong performances, which earned him a second MVP title on Thursday, are based on such great passing stations as Travis Kelce.
Over the years, the brothers have learned from each other. Jason has become more relaxed, Travis more professional. That’s exactly why, with this winning combination, they are now one of the top players in the NFL. And are consequently in the Super Bowl in Phoenix. their first together. As Mama Donna watched his brother win the championship with Travis in the stadium box in 2018, she wondered, according to Sports Illustrated, how much envy would mix with Jason’s joy. “It was always a competition between the two and that hasn’t changed to this day.”
Now the mother is in a dilemma. Who is she supporting? “The offensive,” she replies coolly to the question. After all, she can be sure that her family will get another of the coveted championship rings on Sunday. But of course that’s not enough for the crazy NFL fans. Because of the peculiarity of the brother duel, a good 185,000 people have one petition signed, which stipulates that Donna performs the pre-game coin toss. However, the NFL has chosen to honor the late Arizona State and Arizona Cardinals footballer Pat Tillman by selecting four Tillman Scholars from the Pat Tillman Foundation to perform the honors.
“No one is good at losing”
A year ago, things weren’t going well for Jason on Donna’s mammoth Sunday tour. His Eagles sink helplessly. Shortly thereafter, Mama Kelce can still cheer because the Chiefs not only win, Travis also catches more than 100 yards for the seventh time in his playoff career. The semifinals may be the end of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals, but this year’s revenge means everything is set for the first brother duel in the world’s largest single sporting event.
History will be made Sunday in the Super Bowl. A family cracker. Brotherly Rivalry. “It’s the fulfillment of your hopes and dreams, but also your worst fears,” says Donna Kelce. “One will go home a loser and neither of them is particularly good at losing.”