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Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are set to take on the New England Patriots this evening in the AFC Championship game. The head-to-head match will take place at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Kelce will have the support of his family, namely his mom, Donna, his dad, Ed, and his brother, Jason.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. His Mom Made Headlines for Throwing Shade at Tom Brady Last Year
In 2018, the Patriots faced the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Kelce’s mom Donna made headlines when she threw shade at Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (her other son Jason plays for the Eagles). The post came after the Eagles defeated the Pats and Jason Kelce became a Super Bowl champion, he and his team beating the best quarterback in the league.
“Two orders of fried cheese curd s- $50, one ticket to the Super Bowl – $2,100 and my son celebrating the win at the Super Bowl as Tom Brady gets helped off of his butt #Priceless!!!!!” Donna Kelce tweeted. The post was retweeted more than 3,800 times and received more than 16,000 likes. You can check it out below.
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Two orders of fried cheese curds- $50, one ticket to the Super Bowl- $2,100 and my son celebrating the win at the Super Bowl as Tom Brady gets helped off of his butt #Priceless!!!!!
Donna Kelce hasn’t tweeted about tonight’s AFC Championship game, but if the Chiefs are able to come out on top, that might change.
2. His Dad Is a Huge Sports Fan
Kelce’s dad Ed has been a huge influencer when it comes to Travis’ love for sports. Ever since he was young, Travis, Jason, and Ed would watch sports and play sports, often rough-housing as boys do.
“All I had been doing is playing outside, playing sports my entire life,” Travis Kelce told ABC News in 2017.
“I mean, they played every sport you could possibly think of. And both of them are extremely driven, extremely tenacious humans. I think they’re highly motivated and they hate to lose. I don’t know if that’s inbred in them, or they spurred each other on with that,” Donna Kelce told NFL.com.
Travis told ABC News that his dad took him to a World Series game when he was only 5. In 2016, Travis returned the favor and took his dad to a World Series game.
Despite both of Ed’s sons making it to the NFL, he remains humble.
“Ed Kelce will be there…when the Chiefs host Pittsburgh, but he doesn’t go to many away games anymore. He can’t justify paying $600 for a skybox seat when he can watch it on TV,” ABC News reported.
3. His Brother Jason Plays for the Philadelphia Eagles
Travis Kelce isn’t the only star footballer in the Kelce family. As mentioned earlier on in this post, his brother Jason plays for the Eagles.
Jason and Travis played football together at the University of Cincinnati for three seasons. In 2011, they were both drafted, “Jason by the Eagles in the sixth round in 2011 and Travis by the Chiefs in the third round two years later, and have spent their entire careers with their respective teams so far.”
“Obviously, it’s pretty cool to have a brother in the NFL and to see the journey that both of us took to get there, to see the hard work, to see the good luck and the bad luck along the way, I think it’ll be cool to see what he says and how it all comes together,” Travis said during an interview as part of E:60.
Jason Kelce has one Super Bowl championship to his name and Travis is thisclose to playing in football’s biggest game of the year and potentially getting a ring of his own — if the Chiefs can hold off the Patriots and go on to win Super Bowl LIII.
4. His Mom Made a Chiefs-Eagles Mashup Jersey to Support Both of Her Sons
Having two sons both playing in the NFL is amazing and “Mama Kelce” supports both of her boys just the same. In fact, she made headlines back in 2017 when she custom made a jersey that was half Eagles and half Chiefs. She wore the jersey the very first time that her two sons faced off against one another.
“Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce will face off with his brother Travis, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, for the first time in their pro careers today and their mom Donna is well prepared for the occasion. She has a very unique football jersey for the special day. It’s a blend of a red Chiefs jersey and a green Eagles jersey with Travis’ No. 87 on the front and Jason’s No. 62 on the back,” NBC Sports reported at the time.
The Chiefs beat the Eagles 27-20 in that game.
5. His Mom Supported His Decision Participate in a Reality Dating Show
Kelce starred in Catching Kelce, a reality dating program that aired on the E! network in the fall of 2016. His mom had no issues with Travis taking part in the show and simply wanted him to find love.
“He is in a smaller market. You have to do what you have to do. The career is not long, and you have to make the biggest bang that you can in the shortest amount of time. He knew that would help him further his name, and people would start to know who he was, and he would get to know the people in the industry,” she told NFL.com.
The television show route didn’t end up working for Kelce. His relationship with Maya Benberry only lasted a few months. He went on to find love with his current girlfriend Kayla Nicole. You can read more about her by clicking below.
READ NEXT: Meet Travis Kelce’s Girlfriend Kayla Nicole