Kelce’s national popularity has soared thanks to his podcast with brother Travis, but he’ll always be a Philadelphia fan favorite.
It wasn’t supposed to end this way.
After considering stepping away from the game last season, Eagles center Jason Kelce decided to play again after the Birds fell just short of another Super Bowl win against his brother’s Kansas City Chiefs.
But now, after a monumental collapse that saw the Eagles completely fizzle over the final month and a half of the season, Kelce says he’s done. The NFL posted the announcement on social media this morning.
His football stats are undeniable. He was selected for the Pro Bowl seven times, named a first team All-Pro six times. He was a six time team captain, an integral part of the Eagles first-ever Super Bowl win, and he started all 193 games in his career.
But separate from his play on the field– and despite how his career ended– Kelce has given Eagles fans more than enough enjoyment both on and off the gridiron. He will likely go down as one of the most popular players the team has ever seen.
Here’s a short list of some of the things we’ll remember the most:
The Eagles’ first Super Bowl win drew millions to Center City in February 2018 to see the team parade through the streets. No one embraced the celebration more than Kelce, who donned a green-sequined Mummers outfit (giant hat and all) for his trip through the city.
Along the way, Kelce’s costume became the image of the parade. Kelce further embodied the emotions of the day in his blistering– and supremely “Philly”– speech from atop the Art Museum steps.
With his voice failing, Kelce created a rallying cry that remains imprinted on the hearts of Eagles fans: “No one likes us, we don’t care.” The full speech – peppered with profanity — is worth revisiting, if for nothing else to remember better times and to revisit other portions that remain ingrained in the pantheon of team slogans including “hungry dogs run faster” and “we all we got.”
Fans embraced the speech so hard, that the text of the speech was quickly reproduced on T-shirts, posters and plaques that still adorn fan caves throughout the region.
