"Kelce Bowl" buzz descended on Phoenix as Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce prepare to make history on Monday (HK time) when they become the first brothers to play each other in the Super Bowl.
At the Super Bowl Opening Night, where throngs of NFL fans packed the Footprint Center, the fraternal fracas was on the tip of every reporter's tongue.
"It's a special moment," said Travis, who helped the Chiefs to the championship three years ago but endured a 31-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the following year's Super Bowl.
"It's something we'll remember for the rest of our lives," he added.
The pair have each already enjoyed enviable tenures in the NFL, which could help soften the blow when one of them inevitably walks out of State Farm Stadium on the losing side on Monday.
Travis, 33, has earned eight Pro Bowl selections and is a bona fide media darling for his rakish charm and on-field heroics.
Jason, 35, by comparison, enjoys a smaller spotlight as an offensive lineman but has earned six Pro Bowl nods and helped Philadelphia to the Lombardi Trophy five years ago.
"He's got more Pro Bowls, he's going in the Hall of Fame as a first ballot, arguably the best tight end of all time, he's better looking, he's better at dancing," said Jason. "Give me one thing, Trav: Let me have more Super Bowls."
Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, the pair dreamed that they might play in the Super Bowl together - of course, in their childhood fantasy, they were on the same team. "We both realize that, for somebody, it's not going to go well," Jason said. "It sounds crazy but I think we're both still rooting for each other. I might not be rooting for the Chiefs but I'm always rooting for Travis."
Opening Night returned in full force yesterday. The annual media spectacle regularly draws thousands of rabid fans and a packed house of reporters, but had been forced to go on hiatus from 2021-22 over Covid-19 concerns, with players meeting with members of the media via Zoom instead.
At Footprint Center, cheers echoed through the arena and eclectic costumed characters rubbed shoulders with upcoming Super Bowl stars.
"It's a lot of electricity," said Travis. "I feel like this one has just got a little bit more juice to it."
It will mark the first time a Super Bowl will have two Black quarterbacks start the game, with Jalen Hurts, 24, leading the Eagles against Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs.
Hurts said that he wanted to "carry that torch" for those who came before him.
REUTERS
Jason Kelce, left, and his brother Travis will make history at the Super Bowl. Mom Donna plays a family trivia game about the pair. AFP, REUTERS
