Former Philadelphia Eagles star Jason Kelce had his allegiances divided in Super Bowl 59. His former team faced off against his brother Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of Super Bowl 57. After losing the first matchup, the Eagles got their revenge, defeating the Chiefs 40-22 in a dominant showing on both sides of the ball.
Jason Kelce now works at ESPN and spent some time covering the game. On his podcast, “New Heights,” he shared some thoughts on the setup in New Orleans for Super Bowl 59.
Kelce Rips New Orleans for Super Bowl Infrastructure
Kelce didn’t mince words when discussing New Orleans as the host city for Super Bowl 59.
“The issue was the infrastructure is awful, like there was going from place to place. It was a train wreck,” Kelce said on ‘New Heights.’
“And then at night, for some reason, they had this ordinance that whenever the trains coming through town, it has to blow its horn every time it’s going to a crosswalk. So, you’re just hearing a f****** train horn constantly in the middle of the night, which is annoying as f***. But outside of that, it was fantastic. It was really good.”
The Super Bowl was played at Caesars Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints. While the arena itself didn’t appear to have any issues this time, it is notable that it has had issues in the past when hosting the event.
New Orleans was hosting its first Super Bowl since 2013 when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in Super Bowl 47. The event brought plenty of attention to the city, as always, as Super Bowl media week brought in tons of attention.
Much of the attention from media week was on the game itself, but additionally, the future of Travis Kelce’s playing career, what the game would mean for Patrick Mahomes’ legacy, and Jameis Winston’s trial run covering the event for Fox Sports also drew plenty of attention.
With so much going on the week before the game and the Super Bowl being so popular, it was a surprise to nobody that the event was so crowded.
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With the city boasting warm weather, numerous festivities, and a dome to play the game in, this presumably will not be New Orleans’ last time it hosts the Super Bowl. However, Kelce’s comments will likely be looked into, as they could be ways to improve the event as a whole.
Kelce’s ‘Miserable’ Experience Watching Super Bowl 59
Jason had a rough week overall, as he detailed on “New Heights.” During the latest episode of his podcast, he got emotional while discussing the conflicting feelings of rooting for his former teammates on the Eagles while also wanting to see his younger brother, Travis, win another ring. When asked to describe his experience watching the Super Bowl, Jason said it was “terrible.”
After the game, Jason sent out a post trying to sum up his conflicting emotions, and he elaborated on this on the podcast.
“I didn’t even want to tweet it. I think I would rather do it here because you’ll be able to talk more. It doesn’t matter what happens, whatever you say is gonna get clipped, it sucks,” Jason said, making it clear that he expected his words to be misconstrued.
“I’ve always supported you…it was hard to navigate cause obviously, I’m trying to say that I have people on the Eagles that I love and I also have you. I tried to make it known that I was rooting for you, and it felt like I couldn’t be right. It felt like no matter what I said some people were gonna skew it and say I was rooting for the Eagles, and some people are gonna say I was rooting for the Chiefs or Travis. It sucked.”
At that point, Travis came to his brother’s defense.
“That’s the world we live in, man,” Travis responded. “I know I always had your support and I joked around saying you’re cheering for the Eagles. Listen, you and Kylie are there in Philly and have created one of the most beautiful situations that I’ve ever seen. You guys are loved by the community out there.” Kylie Kelce is strongly involved with the Eagles Autism Foundation, and the couple has been highly active in the Philadelphia community.
“Everything from the foundation stuff that Kylie does, both of you guys do. To the countless amount of hours and years you spent in that organization giving it everything that you have. You don’t have to explain anything to anybody. As long as the people right here, I know who Jason Kelce is, and I know my brother and what his intentions are. No one can ever confuse that.
“I think the people in the Philadelphia organization understand exactly who you are and what you represent and how you were saying it.”
Jason shared his candid thoughts on his mixed emotions watching Super Bowl LIX
For full context, you can find the full episode here: https://t.co/yutLmsVNnx pic.twitter.com/52TnRXyOX3
— New Heights (@newheightshow) February 12, 2025
Jason actually got quite emotional when discussing how he felt at the game, making it clear just how torn he was during the Super Bowl.
“It was very, very hard to watch,” Jason said. “As much as I love the Eagles, as much as I love the city of Philadelphia there was not a f****** ounce of me…I tried to correlate that I was rooting for both sides the whole time and that I was gonna be happy and sad regardless.
“I just don’t know how to articulate that I’m happy for some of the Eagles but at the same time I was miserable during the game watching you not achieve your success again.” That shows how tough Super Bowl 59 was on Kelce. His brother did not perform well on the biggest stage, having just four catches for 39 yards, and that pain took away from his happiness watching his former team become champions.
“That’s the reality of it. It f***** sucked, and it felt weird for me not to be cheering. That’s what it felt like. It felt like why the f*** am I not as excited? It was just a f***ed up emotion. I’m so happy for Jalen Hurts. I’m so happy for Nick Sirianni, and all these guys that have been through so much. It was really f***ed. I did not anticipate it being that hard.”
Travis summed up the situation: “It’s a unique situation that no one can f***** relate to. Nobody can relate to this s***.”
Jason Knew It May Be His Last Chance To Watch His Brother Play
Adding to the emotions is that Jason knew there was a chance that he might be watching his younger brother play his final NFL game. It’s no secret that Travis is contemplating retirement, and Jason even said a few weeks earlier that he didn’t want to miss the AFC Championship Game because he doesn’t “know how many more he has.”
Travis addressed the retirement rumors during the same episode of “New Heights.”
“I’m gonna take some time to figure it out,” Travis said. “And I think I owe it to my teammates that if I do come back that it’s gonna be a wholehearted decision and I’m not half-assing it, and I’m fully here for them.
“I think I can play, it’s just whether or not I’m motivated or it’s the best decision for me as a man, as a human, as a person to take on all that responsibility.”
NFL insider James Palmer recently joined Kay Adams’ “Up & Adams” to discuss what he has heard from inside the Chiefs organization, and multiple members of the franchise revealed that they expect him to retire.
“My gut tells me this is it,” they told Palmer.
"My gut tells me this is IT."@JamesPalmerTV heard from inside the #Chiefs organization about Travis Kelce's future 😳@heykayadams @Chiefs | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/dJigP5IXvs
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 12, 2025
The future Hall-of-Fame tight end may not have played as well as he did in the past, but he remained a difference-maker. The drop-off in production could be noticed. According to PFSN’s Offense+ metric, the Chiefs earned a 78.9 (C+) grade, which ranked 12th in the NFL.
Patrick Mahomes’ favorite target got off to a slower start this season but inevitably turned things around as the season went on. Travis recorded three touchdowns and 823 yards on 97 receptions during the regular season. His 823 yards marked a career-low and the first time he has missed out on 900 receiving yards since 2015.
“People in the building believe he has lost a step, but they still believe he can completely play. But there’s so much on the other side as well. I think there’s just a lot on his shoulders [in terms] of what’s next,” Palmer said.
Kelce was the second oldest tight end in the NFL this season at 35 years old, behind just Marcedes Lewis (40). Once again, age may have stunted his production, but he was still effective.
The Chiefs have reportedly given Travis until March 14 to figure out whether he wants to retire or continue playing, so all eyes will be on the superstar tight end to see what he decides.