Jason Kelce deserves the title of “Super Bowl Championship Parade MVP” after his show in Philadelphia on Thursday. Not only did this man show up dressed in his mummers best, ditch the bus to walk alongside fans, crowd-surf on the streets, lead an iconic (and uncensored) Philadelphian anthem on live TV, chug (multiple) beers along the parade route, and ride a “borrowed” police bike. Jason Kelce then continued to deliver what could arguably go down as the most epic speech in Philadelphia sports history. (Sorry, Chase Utley.)
Just when we thought we couldn’t get any more excited about the occasion, Mr. Kelce took to the podium outside of the art museum and became a living legend through his 5-minute profanity-infused speech. (See the full transcript here) While every second and every word was sheer greatness from beginning to end, there are certainly some distinguished moments that us Philadelphians will never forget.
Talking about head coach Doug Pederson and his fellow teammates:
"When Doug Pederson was hired, he was rated as the worst coaching hire by a lot of freaking analysts out there in the media. This past off-season, some clown named Mike Lombardi told him that he was the least-qualified head coach in the NFL."
Hold up. Did he just call out Mike Lombardi on national television? Oh yes, he did.
Did Mike Lombardi deserve it? Oh yes, he did. And he knew It.
He then proceeded to name 22 of his teammates and what they’ve been scrutinized and counted out in the media for. When he wrapped up the list, the fact of the matter was all too real: “It’s the whole team. It’s the whole team.”
Giving us underdogs a new favorite quote:
Throughout the post season, the Eagles' fanbase has branded our team as the "underdogs." Even though our 13-3 record speaks otherwise, there's no denying that we defended this title through the setbacks and doubts that were no match for this team. As Kelce continued to say with fire in his eyes, "We were a bunch of underdogs. And you know what an underdog is? It’s a hungry dog." He then talked about the quote on the wall of the Eagles' O-line room that reads "Hungry dogs run faster."
The crowd went absolutely wild.
Acknowledging the best fans in the world:
The perfect ending to this powerhouse speech was devoted to the fans who've been there through and through. He understood the struggle of being a Philly sports fan and how much this championship means to the entire city. This dude just gets it.
"You want to talk about an underdog? You want to talk about a hungry dog? For 52 years you've been starved of this championship."
All-in-all, Jason Kelce’s speech had me feeling like I could run through a wall if I wanted to. It wouldn’t have been complete without the flying expletives, but hey, that’s the Philly way.
“No one likes us. No one likes us. No one likes us. We don’t care.”
