Eagles

An Ode to the Everyman, Jason Kelce

By Kyle Pagan

Published: Jan 16th, 2024 · 11:48 AM EST

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I don’t have a great Jason Kelce story or a time he really ever impacted my life outside of football. He didn’t cure my depression. I didn’t share a bond with a family member who passed away over our love for Jason Kelce, but I loved #62 because he was just a dude. An everyman. He felt like a friend. Like that guy in your group you’d call up on Saturdays when there was a full college football slate and you needed someone to go wire-to-wire with in some random bar in the city. You can use all the Philly stereotypes of why he became Philadelphia’s son, but I think he became so popular because he looked like he was the most comfortable when he was around Eagles fans:

 

 

Jason Kelce is at the greatest bar in Philly! pic.twitter.com/eetVKSH89p

— Crossing Broad (@CrossingBroad) December 27, 2022

He’d crush a DB pulling around the corner and then crush a beer with fans after the games:

Jason Kelce celebrated yesterday’s win by enjoying a beer given to him by an Eagles fan after the game. 🍺🦅pic.twitter.com/mA944Qow2t

— Eagles Nation (@PHLEaglesNation) September 13, 2021

He’d raise millions for the Eagles Autism Foundation and crush beers with fans:

 

The Phillies would be in the playoffs and he’d show up crushing beers with the Phanatic:

We got a Jason Kelce beer chug pic.twitter.com/lp7HQTSePU

— Bird Enjoyer (@BaierBeware) October 22, 2022

Bang the drum? Beer.

He wins a Super Bowl and he’s spending more time with fans than he is on the bus:

 

Everyman!

And I think him retiring after one of the worst losses of his career actually makes him even more relatable. Sure, retiring after a Super Bowl win would’ve been the cherry on top of an awesome career, but regular dudes don’t get fairytale endings. Life beats ya down. Pick yourself up. He’s going off into the sunset licking his wounds. It sucks. But at least he’s not going anywhere. We’ll still see him down in Sea Isle and I’m sure he’ll be around the city and on our TV screens while doing his weekly show. We might even get more time with him now honestly. But still. What an amazing career. He laid out the blueprint for every athlete on how to play in this city for the rest of time. Literally every draft pick in this city should be shown this video on their first day: