A 40-minute farewell speech full of tears, smiles and memories.
That’s how one of the most significant North American sports careers of the 2000s ended on Monday.
American football star Jason Kelce ended his 13-season NFL career with a press conference that looked like himself. The 36-year-old Super Bowl winner let his emotions show, amused those present and praised Philadelphia. The city he represented throughout his eventful professional career.
For more than a decade, fans of the sports-crazy big city fell in love with the center who led the team’s offensive line. At the same time, Kelce grew into an exceptional and extremely respected figure in the biggest sports league in North America.
The little player was not trusted
The Eagles booked Kelce, who is small for his position, but exceptionally explosive and fast, only in the sixth round with booking number 191 in 2011. The late booking reflects the doubts about the University of Cincinnati player. Kelce was the underdog throughout his career.
Growing up in Cleveland Heights, on the outskirts of Cleveland, Kelce didn’t get a college scholarship at the time. Colleges doubted his size and strength levels. In high school, Kelce also played hockey, lacrosse and played the saxophone in a jazz band. He didn’t just bet on American football.
Kelce ended up in Cincinnati in 2006. Coached at the university at the time Paul Longo wanted to move Kelce from a defensive lineman to the offensive line. To a place where, according to his own words, he never thought he would play.
In the offensive line, centers are traditionally giant and strong players, who are almost always the slowest on their team in tests. Kelce was a different country. The Philadelphia Eagles also took the risk in the spring of 2011.
I’m following the coach of the offensive line hired a while ago, now deceased Howard Mudd trusted Kelce’s strengths.
– He valued athleticism in his linemen more than size, Kelce recalled the lucky coincidence in his closing speech.
He told his agent by Jason Bernstein said after the booking that Kelce had no idea how perfect destiny the booking was.
– You will be a great fit in Philadelphia. This is a town just like you, Kelce said Bernstein said, breaking down in tears.
From a star newcomer to the middle of difficulties
The 24-year-old Kelce carved out a spot for himself on the Eagles’ offensive line in his rookie season. “Big Yeti”, who was small for a center, 190 centimeters and less than 130 kilograms at the time, made Eagles club history by being the first rookie center to play in all 16 regular season games.
The next season was ruined when the anterior cruciate ligament in Kelce’s knee broke in the fall. In the 2013 season, he made a successful comeback and the Eagles made it to the playoffs. After his return, he was rewarded with a six-year, $37.5 million contract.
In the 2014 season, he made it to the league’s all-star game, the Pro Bowl, for the first time, but after that criticism also rose. The 2016 season started badly. Kelce received multiple holding penalties, was dominated by opponents, and his status with the club was questioned.
– I looked like one of the worst centers in the series. Almost everybody wanted me out of town, Kelce recalled Monday.
Fortunately for Kelce, even the Eagles’ offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland believed in him.
Philadelphia’s decades-long wait is over
In the next training season, in addition to strength, Kelce, who was in tune with transfer rumors, focused on developing his handwork and footwork. The underdog mentality reared its head again as Kelce prepared to prove his level, especially to himself.
– Throughout his career, he drew strength from the idea that he was not believed in, NFL expert and head coach of the Finnish American football men’s national team Mikko Koikkalainen analyze.
The Cinderella story was complete when the unyielding center led Philadelphia to the NFL’s final appearance in the Super Bowl. Among other things, the quarterback Carson Wentz’s a season that included a serious knee injury culminated in the Eagles defeating a sports legend Tom Brady’s led by the dynasty New England Patriots 41–33, without Wentz.
Finally, at the championship party, Kelce sealed his place in Philadelphia sports history. He gave a speech at the festive parade dressed in korea, a costume familiar from the city’s New Year’s parades.
He spoke passionately about the underdog status and the belittlement the entire team felt throughout the season. The speech went straight to the heart of fans who had previously criticized him.
– It wasn’t my speech, it was all of Philadelphia, Kelce said on Monday.
A hero loved by the city
In his career, Kelce eventually reached seven places in the all-star game and six selections to the league’s all-star team. According to Koikkailainen, it is rare that in today’s league a player spends his entire career of more than ten years in one club. In addition, the biggest stars of the series are often quarterbacks or wide receivers.
Kelce built an absolutely extraordinary career with a late booking number. Originally, it was not expected that he would be able to play even several years in the series.
– His qualities also shaped the Eagles’ offensive game. Patterns were developed with him in mind, because they had a player who could move faster from place A to place B than a “normal” player in that position, Koikkalainen emphasizes.
Kelce became one of the best players of all time at his position. In addition, the down-to-earth star impressed with her volunteer work. The open small town school has actively participated in the activities of Eagles, an organization focused on the treatment of autism.
Kelce and a few other Eagles players recorded a Christmas album a few years ago, the proceeds of which went to support the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The connection with the fans was also strengthened through honest interaction.
– It’s great that in a masculine sport someone dares to show their feelings, Koikkalainen enthuses.
A seasoned NFL expert says Kelce was also great at opening up the sport to reporters. He could call the reporter in the evening if something was left unaddressed.
– General openness and the ability to show one’s face under the helmet will go down in history, Koikkalainen sums up.
Public speaking can be Kelce’s profession in the future, because he already has his brother Travis’s with the most popular sports podcast in the US. The program’s popularity exploded at the latest when the music superstar Taylor Swift and Travis started dating.
According to rumors, several TV companies also asked about Kelce’s interest in expert positions when he was in Las Vegas watching the February Super Bowl, where Travis’ Kansas City won the championship for the second year in a row.
Jason Kelce’s retirement was heavily speculated after last year’s losing Super Bowl. He decided to continue, but this season’s disappointment was the last. Kelce’s Philadelphia Eagles crashed out of the playoffs in the opening round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He had been thinking about quitting for years. The head coach Nick Siriani had inspired his credit horse to continue with beer boxes during the summer. They no longer motivated me to continue.
– This was all I had, Kelce finished his long closing speech.
As a player, everything was left on the field.
Listen to Mikko Koikkalainen’s view of Jason Kelce’s legacy to the NFL below.