The Kelce family isn’t shy about being in the NFL spotlight, especially with country/pop singer Taylor Swift now in the picture.
Two-time Super Bowl-winning tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce, and his Super Bowl-winning older brother from the Philadelphia Eagles Jason, are used to being in headlines and having cameras on them. Even their mother, Donna, has had cameras on her, especially standing next to the multi-Grammy-winning Swift in Week 3 vs. the Chicago Bears.
But has their father embraced the spotlight the rest of the family has?
Before the Kelce brothers’ rise to fame, was Ed Kelce aspiring for his own league career or forging a different path compared to the sons he raised?
Ed Kelce Revealed Health Defects on Sons’ New Heights Podcast in July 2023
For starters, the patriarch of the Kelce family revealed during a July 26, 2023, episode of New Heights that he had a vision of wearing a U.S. Army uniform, which would’ve maintained a family trend for Ed Kelce.
However, the father dealt with torn cartilage in his left knee — an ailment that he sustained during his high school football career.
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Because of that setback, the Army unfortunately turned him away from joining. Had he joined that military branch, he would’ve kept a family tradition of serving, saying, “Everybody in my family prior to me was in the service.”
Kelce found a new outlet, but then came another obstacle.
Ultimately, he was advised to take up the U.S. Coast Guard instead of worsening his knee in the Army.
Yet, right before going on that trek, he discovered a new obstacle in Crohn’s Disease.
“I enlisted in the Coast Guard, and the Crohn’s reared up,” Ed said. “I’d never had that before, and I was sick. I went through most of the basic training with some severe gastrointestinal issues. They don’t need sick people in the service; they need people who are ready to perform.”
Ed Kelce Post-Coast Guard Attempt, Including How He Met Donna Kelce
Regardless, Ed Kelce earned three personal wins.
He went on to a lengthy and highly successful career in the steel and metal industry in Cleveland, the family’s home city.
As Ed and his wife detailed on the New Heights podcast with their sons, Donna was on her way to a date with another man before Ed stepped in.
“I was supposed to go out with a guy that night; we were supposed to go to a play, and I never made it. Your dad and I talked forever,” Donna said.
Ed ended up running into his future wife at a bar named Fagan’s in Old Cleveland Flats. He shared how he originally went there for an after-work drink and was “covered in cement” but instead struck up a conversation with Donna before the rest was history. Unfortunately, the relationship ended after 25 years, but Ed and Donna remained friends.
“We are friends to this day … We get along great; just sometimes, people move apart, that’s all,” Donna said.
Ed went on to produce two sons who have now played a combined 24 NFL seasons together. Yet, that’s not the only thing Jason and Travis have combined for.
The brothers now have five Super Bowl appearances and three rings for winning the big game. Now, Ed has witnessed Travis score what he called a bigger victory than the Super Bowl — winning over Swift.
After being seen with Swift attending one of Kelce’s games, Ed had some kind words to share about Swift when talking to People magazine.
“We’re sitting in the suite, she gets up, and in the front room, she gets up to go get a drink or something, and she starts picking up empty bottles, cans, plates that are scattered around,” Ed said. “Because in the suites everybody gets stuff, and you empty it down wherever you can.”
“And I’m just thinking, I don’t think she got the diva memo. She didn’t get the spoiled musician. She doesn’t know how to pull that off. And that really, to me, said a whole lot.”
A good sign of things to come for Travis and Swift, perhaps.