Rich Eisen’s Heartfelt Sendoff to Retiring Eagles C Jason Kelce | The Rich Eisen Show

Rich Eisen examines the wide-ranging impact retiring Eagles C Jason Kelce had on players and fans throughout his Hall of Fame career.

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Christopher hey you know you’re you’re sometimes um keenly aware of things UMAS yeah you are yeah uh and and sometimes you’ll say things into the microphone that sometimes I’m like really and other times I’m like really and then you’re proven somewhat out and it’s uh it’s

It’s jarring are you okay give me a compliment like this are you all right uh yeah okay I’m good I’m very confident there’s a turn coming here I can feel it no there’s not oh really no uh the Kelsey did their first pod since Jason retired and um Travis was there yeah cuz

Normally they’re zooming in from their different parts of the United States of America um so they’re actually in the same room because Travis had uh was there at the retirement announcement then they went to Cleveland they were they were court side of the Cavs Celtics game last night beard last night so

Maybe they’re the cooler for your Celtics let keep got get the Kelsey’s away from the Celtics inal the killer K is on the on the on the killer Seas right okay get out here so um so I don’t know when they recorded the Pod but they’re together and you were saying that maybe

Jason would stick around until Travis was done so they could go into the Hall together right absolutely Andis perf sense Travis and had a moment where he he was talking about you know J Jason’s contributions to the sport but not just the sport to him as a brother

Playing the same Sport and and his comfort level of having Jason in the sport and now he’s going to be playing the sport where his brother’s no longer active I would imagine for the first time right yeah for sure right like this be College together Warner I’m sure all

Of it backyard right yeah no doubt so that led to this exchange between the two we did not talk about much of your retirement and I I wanted to make sure that you didn’t feel any pressure from me to keep going knowing I I wanted you

To keep going I wanted you to keep playing this why didn’t you tell me this I would have changed my mind no no no you’ve always been a step ahead of me in um in this game yeah but it’s in this game alone you’ve always been a step

Ahead of me and it’s always been like I’ve had that flotation device right there to have you out of it man it feels uh it feels empty and it definitely um it feels like it’s complete you know it was a success I hear you it was a fun journey to watch and

Uh and like I said yesterday man I just appreciate you showing me the way and uh bringing us all along the journey with you big guy we showed each other the way you’ve been playing for a long time on your own and I look forward to being

Able to appreciate and watch your game more and Tak in the bigger picture of football and everything that it has to offer well was just it was cool being uh being the tag team of the National Football Le pretty cool did you think Kelsey was going to

Retire Jason Travis right there no I didn’t think so I I thought what Jason said at one point like you should have told me I think I was tongue and cheek I felt like he was kidding but but and what ever Ed and Donna laid down in their household that these two

Guys are so in touch with their emotions and comfortable sharing it should be bottled up and you know taught and shown if necessary to any parents you know and obviously I relate I’ve probably done more crying on this set than you know anybody I I I have no problem

Showing my emotions on the ear none full ver vermeal whenever I I can I don’t I don’t mind it I get choked up I I think it is a sign of strength and um uh emotional normaly if that’s such a thing to share it and you know when when Jason was

Talking about his wife meeting his wife for the first time and that’s must what love must have felt and things of that nature um I I I loved it I I I just thought and I I know he want he had a 45 minute farewell tour

And it it was um longer than most but length doesn’t it just doesn’t I don’t care how long it went cuz it was so raw and so emotional and so just relatable and then you learn more about Jason Kel not just about some of the stories that he was

Sharing but I I want to bring this to the four here cuz I didn’t know about this I did not know his you know the Eagles trainer on the training staff Joe opella had cancer and opella told the story on his Instagram feed and I I want to read it to you with

Some photographs by the way look at look at look at Jason when they first met top left right there that’s like black right I forgot that he had super long hair he looks like Mick Foley in the early days yeah good one yeah man so he was talking

About how you know in Jason’s second year he tourne that Joe went to the Head trainer and told him I needed to do his reab because he need to be treated like an athlete not a conventional offensive lineman and what would occur over the next 12 plus years would impact my life

In a way I never imagined and he talked about the on the field accomplishments off the field accomplishments and the things that they did together you know from being his wing bow cornerman hourlong rehab sessions followed by nights out on the town and things of that nature he mentioned how and what

Would be Kelsey’s final season in Philadelphia he was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemo and Kelsey offered his shorehouse if he needed to get away and offered a pay for meal services to help out opel’s wife and the family and he called me randomly when I had been home

Too sick to come in because of chemo just to check in on me and chat about random things that’s who he is as a person this one got me I taped this guy’s ankles and thumbs every day for 13 seasons and when he played his last game

In Tampa that was the the wild card playoff game that they lost again I couldn’t be there due to cancer and when he told me he would be retiring and I expressed my regret of not being the last person to ever tape him he offered to have me tape him for

His retirement press conference that’s who he is and I hope these stories can add to an already unbelievable Legacy guys again I’m I’m going full vermeal here and I don’t even know this gentleman why don’t you tape me for my final press conference so you are the last person to tape me

On and just in case you’re wondering if if you know well knows the guy and cuz again we live in a cynical World cynical cynical world where this sort of stuff for me cuts through just in case anybody out there is like you know oh he knows them and

Whatever and I would do the same thing for someone I know how about for someone you don’t know this hopped in my Twitter feed from WIP radio this caller who called in apparently apparently radio stations have been inundated with fans telling stories similar to this about Jason Kelce it’s a

Caller named Randy who told this story now with Jason um I’m a veteran a combat veteran and I’ve seen a lot and done a lot and I was going through some stuff I got I got hit with covid and I never had any PTSD nothing like that I’d always

Been able to handle that just like kind of compartmentalize it and never really worried about it well I got Co in November 22 and it triggered something in my head and I end up being out of work 10 weeks staring at the wall um reliving kill shots it was just horrible

Horrible um worst lowest time of my life and I evidently I posted something on Jason’s Facebook page and uh he called me up he reached out he texted me up and like brother you okay you need somebody talk to wow wow wow that is a wow I

Mean he’s been my favorite player um since his second year in the league I’ve had his jersey um just this one it’s great for him but man I I I don’t even know I mean that hit me like a ton of brecks I had to sit down where I was and start thinking

About what more I can do I’m serious you know he’s got three kids they’re much smaller than mine you know and a wife who he loves and I love mine and I thought to myself he still has time to you know see somebody on a

Post on his page and like seek out how do I reach out to the guy yeah and he’s getting he’s in the middle I imagine maybe a playing season or whatever middle of being a dad and a husband or I I’m so I admire this guy so

Much so much just wanted to pause and give that part of this and I don’t know if it’s because you know just to completely share I don’t know if it’s because I’m just overly emotional these days about how life is moving on and you know and there’s so much uncertainty in our world

Mort just passed away and you know the things that you hear like I understand he was clearly sick with cancer for a while but everybody’s telling me that um you know he he either didn’t let on about it or he sounded great recently it it it took people AB

Back it was sudden for somebody who’s been sick for a while but that neither here nor there it’s just just the fleeting nature of our world and our life and I’m not to get too deep here but that’s this is catching me in a way uh a retirement hasn’t for a lot of

Players in the league you know so just wanted to pause and just tell some of these stories because again I’m I’m being told there’s just an outpouring of one story like this after the other after the other about Jason Kel so certainly one of a kind it’s uh their

Pod is super fun if you don’t listen to it it’s just two brothers who share a deep love of each other in the game of football and and they’re happy to share it right and they’re super open about everything and they’re vulnerable and it’s not something we’ve ever really

Seen before in this type of media kind of landscape and you know everyone’s curious what he’s going to do next it’s I was saying this morning to Trav talked about being tag teams they should be wrestlers like wouldn’t that be so fun right to just keep that competitive

Juice going the tag team chel I imagine the media will come I could certainly see Travis being following the Rocks footsteps and getting into movies and I mean shows it does look like Jason’s not going to wear sleeves anymore so that kind of makes sense I did like the

Sleeveless with the Rolex that was that was a flex McRee broke that barrier down now sleeves are no longer required you know but it’s yeah just getting to see him when he was here last summer and just like the five minutes we saw him at

The Super Bowl at the party he was like oh yeah he was like offended that I tried to say oh we’re from Rich’s show we met you over the summer he was like yeah of course I remember you guys like have a beer we’re like oh yeah of course

You’re the man obviously you know it’s just and and you guys know how I feel about the Eagles I hate them and yet when Jason came in here and you meet the guy and we chopped it up it’s like man I crap I have to like you I have to like

You I got no choice he’s just that type of dude man he he’s been in that Community for 13 years right and so his wife is from Philadelphia no and she won’t wear anybody else’s gear anyone else’s color I know and so but but that’s why if you’re sitting there

Wondering really Jason Kelsey the center of the Eagles um really he’s up there with Mike Schmidt and Dr J and you know name anybody else who’s an all-time great Philadelphia sports star and obviously right obviously I’m I’m naming you know 80s people but right I’m sure there are many others Philadelphia fans

Can chime in but when you hear the story of that veteran who called in and the others who were were there and then you know the Philadelphia Eagles trainer part on his training staff and you hear this and you’re just wonder how many more there must be underneath the surface like hell

Yeah yeah you know rich I think about that a lot because it seems like we’re always in the media you concern with the negative and I just know for a fact like I always try to seek out the positive you know how many stories that there are

Like this out there but they just don’t never make them here because you know people don’t want to see the positive but right we could we we could be talking about the Eagles are screwed that Kelsey’s gone what happens to the what happens to the brotherly shove play

How are they going to fill the void you know but like that story man that just that made me feel man it touches you it really does not here that negative stuff no we try we try to steer away from that which I love and you know this is kind of like

Off that topic a little bit you talked about like getting te eyed as you were talking I just happened to pull up Instagram and somebody had a post that said so many bowls of cereal and Pop-Tarts consume while watching these guys and it was a picture of

Mort I saw that John Clayton and Stuart just right and I’m looking at this right now wow man no I saw that I saw that and it’s been different there are different um pieces of copy over the same the same Meme and and and with the same meaning well which is which is

That’s my childhood yeah and at the time I had no idea I was part of you know an organization that was making children’s you know uh adult future childhood memories yeah and that blows me away too and that’s but that’s part of what I’m saying I’m seeing those and it makes me

More aware of the fleeting nature of of how we live and how we need to um find the time to pay it forward which Susie talks to me about all the time yeah all the time catch the eyes and show every single day on the Roku Channel 12 to3 Eastern for free