A real Philly Special: Jason Kelce retires an icon in one of sports' toughest cities

Jason Kelce was an afterthought when he arrived in Philadelphia in 2011 as an undersized offensive lineman who had walked on to his college team as a running back. He was a kid from Cleveland with a reputation for having a bad temper, which was part of why he slipped into the sixth round of the NFL Draft.

He had no idea at the time if he'd be able to build a career with the Eagles. But then he got a call from his agent, Jason Bernstein who told him "You have no idea how perfect this is."

"You are going to fit in great in Philadelphia," he said, as Kelce recalled on Monday. "This is your kind of town."

That feeling turned out to be mutual. Kelce was Philadelphia's kind of player, too.

After 13 remarkable seasons and the only Super Bowl championship in Philly history, the 36-year-old Kelce officially retired on Monday as one of the city's all-time favorite adopted sons. He had an iconic run in one of America's toughest sports towns — impressive considering that when Kelce first showed up for his first Eagles training camp, even he questioned whether he belonged.

But he won the Eagles' starting center job that summer, and never once looked back. He played in 193 games and started every one of them. He started the last 156 consecutive games of his career — a new franchise record. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a six-time first-team All-Pro — an honor he earned in each of the last three years.

That is why he will undoubtedly be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But it took more than that to make him the Philadelphia legend that he has undoubtedly become.

Kelce earned that because deep down he knew what so many athletes never learn — that the most beloved players aren't always the biggest stars. Fans tend to fall in love with the players who bring toughness, attitude and work ethic. They embrace the players who embody their city, and what they believe is the spirit of their town. They want someone who wants to be one of them, and that they're proud to adopt as their own.

It didn't take Kelce very long to figure all that out.

"Some people struggle to play in this city," he said. "They can't handle the boos, the media, or our fans. Consider it a blessing to play in the most passionate sports town in America.  No one celebrates their own like the city of Philadelphia. Athletes become demigods in this city.

"Yes, they will let you know when you're not performing well. Every time. But they will also love you if you show effort, aggression, desire, the will to fight. They will love you in this city if you love it, the way you love your brother. You will be loved by going above and beyond to show that you care. 

"Because they care."

For 13 years, nobody in the Eagles organization cared more than Kelce. He showed that enough just by the effort he put into playing one of the most physically demanding positions in sports, and his willingness to give that effort so consistently, for so long, well into his 30s — even over the last few years as he was constantly considering retirement.

But he also showed it with a deep understanding of the people of his city, and how much the Eagles meant to all of them. Even the moment of his greatest triumph, the pinnacle of his career, when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII — the first championship in franchise history – seemed to mean more to Kelce because of what it meant to everyone else.

He remembered being at the Super Bowl parade and meeting a woman carrying the ashes of a dead relative "whom she had promised wouldn't miss the parade if the Eagles had ever won it." He recalled being touched by "what it meant to the city of Philadelphia, the joy it brought our community and the closure it gave to so many." He said "the stories from fans that had been waiting generations for that moment fulfilled that triumph to another level."

That parade, of course, was where Kelce had his signature Philly moment, when he took to the stage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Feb. 8, 2018, dressed in a full Mummers costume, in honor of Philadelphia's famous New Year's Mummers parade. For five minutes he yelled and screamed and whipped the crowd into a frenzy as he profanely painted the Eagles and their city as scrappy underdogs, completely unappreciated by the outside world.

He punctuated it by yelling "We're from Philly — F---ing Philly, No one likes us. We don't care."

It was beautiful music to the city's ears. He remembered it Monday as a "speech that had written itself, and one that had symbolized what we had all lived as players, as a team and as a city.

"That wasn't my speech," he added. "It was Philadelphia's."

From that moment on, he wasn't just one of them. He was them.

And that's really the enduring memory of Jason Kelce. Of course, he'll be remembered as one of the greatest centers in NFL history. Eagles fans will recall the surge of power and skill he provided to lead every single "Tush Push." His teammates will never forget his leadership and friendship. All of that will endure.

But to Philadelphia, he was so much more. He was a regular guy, going crazy with them at the Super Bowl parade, or picking up his saxophone and marching with bands in other Mummers parades. He embraced the city. He tried to be present at all their big moments. He bled for them. He cried with them when they lost and partied with them when they won.

He knew the truth, that fans want to know that the players they cheer for actually care. He understood that in a city like Philadelphia, that might be the most important trait of all.

"They've been caring for generations, in this town about this team, and they aren't about to accept a bunch of excuses and soft-ass nonsense representing the name on the front of the jersey — something they've invested their entire lives in," he said. "If you don't like what the fans and media are saying as a player, it's very easy: Love them, treat them like your brothers, and go out and play your balls off. Wear your heart on your sleeve."

For 13 seasons, that's what Kelce did, every day. He worked tirelessly and proudly to win not just for himself and for his teammates, but for a city that he came to view as his home. And he did it for just one city, too — a place he knew from almost the very beginning that he never wanted to leave. 

"Growing up in Cleveland, I watched all of my favorite athletes leave the city," Kelce said. "Hell, a whole team left the city. It has always been a goal of mine to play my whole career in one city. 

"And I couldn't have dreamed of a better one, or a better fit if I tried."

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.