Written and submitted by Sam Sturkey ('25)
Anyone who knows me knows that I love the Philadelphia Eagles. In honor of the team making it to the Superbowl, I wanted to talk about my favorite Eagles player, center #62, Jason Kelce. I became a fan of Jason Kelce when I had the opportunity to meet him for the first time in 2014.
A local radio station, 92.5 XTU, was looking for student-athletes of the week, so my mom entered me into the contest. I was chosen to ask Jason Kelce and Former Eagle #79 Todd Herremans any questions I had about being an athlete/ professional athlete. This ten-minute interaction with Jason Kelce turned me into a fan.
In 2016 two years after meeting Jason Kelce for the first time, my wheelchair basketball coach gave our team the opportunity to meet the Philadelphia Eagles at training camp. I watched Kelce practice, talked briefly with him, and got an autograph and a picture.
The following season the year the Eagles won their first Superbowl in 2017, I went to training camp again. I had a long conversation with him, and he signed a doll of him that I had gotten for Christmas. He hugged me when training camp was over, and we said bye. I thought this was one of the last times I would see him for a while, but I was wrong.
When we won the Superbowl, Jason made his famous speech at the parade in his mummer's costume. For weeks he was all over news stations and going to events. We heard about a local event in my neighborhood, the Manayunk Mummers parade, and heard Kelce would be in attendance, so we went to catch a glimpse of him. We found someone we knew in the parade, and they invited us to watch everyone set up and wait for Kelce. We waited about four hours, and finally, Kelce arrived. He spotted me through a couple of security guards and pushed past them so he could take time to talk to me and take a couple of pictures with me. This is one of my favorite memories of Kelce and me. I remember telling him that I would see him at training camp in a couple of months, but I haven't had the opportunity to go back and see him.
Jason Kelce is genuinely the most down-to-earth person, and I am so glad I have had the chance to meet him a number of times!