It was the seminal moment of one of the greatest days in Philadelphia sports history. A cathartic speech, from a player who had lived through the failures and near-misses of past years, delivered to hundreds of thousands of euphoric fans, making the experience even more unforgettable, if that was possible.
And it wasn’t supposed to happen.
On his Takeoff with John Clark Podcast with Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce, Clark revealed that Kelce wasn’t on the original list of team members who would speak at the podium when the parade concluded. Kelce shared how he got himself on that list, setting the stage for the greatest speech this city has witnessed, perhaps since 1776, or even before.
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“I went up to the Eagles two days before the parade… and asked them, ‘Who’s speaking? Is there a schedule up?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, we haven’t made that yet. Do you want us to let you know if you’re gonna talk?’ [And I said] ‘I think I got something to say. If I could, I’d love to be able to speak.’ So I don’t know if they were gonna schedule me or not, but I went in there a little proactively. I knew that I had, I thought I had something good that was swirling around in my head.”
It was part professional wrestling, part Ted Talk, part movie-quality inspirational moment, sending the already jubilant legions of Eagles fans to a level of joy that likely won’t be matched anytime soon.
Could you imagine if the Eagles told Kelce, “Oh, you’re not on the list, and we really don’t have time to fit you in.”
I mean, even if he wasn’t on the list the day of the parade, if Jason Kelce rolls up in a full Mummers costume and asks for a few minutes on the mic, who’s gonna tell him no?
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To whomever allowed the stars to align and gave Kelce the opportunity to punctuate the greatest week in franchise history… thank you.