PHILADELPHIA – Super Bowl 57 will double as quite the NFL reunion.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid will be in search of his second Lombardi Trophy as he tries to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, whom he coached for 14 seasons (and to Super Bowl 39), a franchise in search of its second victory on Super Sunday.
But the game will also provide an NFL first with two brothers opposing one another as players.
All-Pros Jason Kelce, a center for the Eagles, and younger sibling Travis, the Chiefs’ superstar tight end, will each be in search of their second rings, too.
“Yup, I have a Kansas City sweatshirt that I will wear for the next three hours and that’s it for the rest of the year. Win or lose, I am done being a Chiefs fan in three hours,” Jason Kelce said Sunday following the Eagles’ 31-7 defeat of the San Francisco 49ers as he waited to see if his brother’s team would advance.
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K.C. ultimately survived the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, to win the AFC title, setting up Kelce Bowl I.
Reid was especially enthused about the prospect, having selected Jason Kelce for Philadelphia in the sixth round of the 2011 draft before taking Travis in Round 3 for Kansas City two years later.
“I’ve invested time in both of those two,” said Reid. “So, I feel like I’m part of the family.”
And while it’s little consolation for Bengals fans, maybe the Queen City can take a bit of joy in watching the University of Cincinnati alums square off. The enjoyment factor for NFL fans at large should be ratcheted up as two of the league’s more engaging personalities – the Kelces also host their own podcast, “New Heights” – get ready to engage in some brotherly love in Arizona.
“My mom can’t lose. I’ll just leave it at that,” said Travis Kelce.
“It’s going to be an amazing feeling playing against him. Obviously, I respect everybody over there in the Eagles organization. You won’t see me talking too much trash because of how much respect and how much I love my brother, but it’s definitely going to be an emotional game, that’s for sure.”
The Super Bowl has had brotherly connections in past games. Head coaches John and Jim Harbaugh matched wits for the Baltimore Ravens and 49ers, respectively, 10 years ago, Baltimore prevailing 34-31. And in Super Bowl 53, the McCourty twins, Devin and Jason, both started in the secondary for the New England Patriots in their 13-3 defeat of the Los Angeles Rams.
Contributing: Jarrett Bell from Kansas City, Mo.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis.
Story Credit: usatoday.com