If you’ve been following along, a Kansas City Chiefs fan stumbled on something that has spiraled into a bit of an identity crisis for TE Travis Kelce. Fans and teammates alike didn’t know if they’ve been mispronouncing Kelce’s last name wrong for years. Now, Kelce’s big brother, Philadelphia Eagles C Jason Kelce, has stepped up to set the record straight.
Calling into Philadelphia’s Sportsradio 94WIP, Jason spoke with James Seltzer on the 94WIP Midday Show. He explained that their last name is pronounced “Kel-see” and not “Kelss” but that wasn’t always the case.
Check it out:
“My brother and I have gone by ‘Kel-see’ our entire lives. And I still remember my dad answering the phone as ‘Ed Kelce’ all growing up when he was on work calls and everything. So, our side of the family has always gone by ‘Kel-see’. But we have a really small family. We don’t have any first cousins. My grandfather on that side was dead before I was born. So, somehow we got so disconnected with that side. And my dad, at some point when he was working in the steel mills in Cleveland, Ohio, got tired of correcting everybody who was calling him ‘Kel-see’. Apparently, the ‘correct’ pronunciation, the standard pronunciation is ‘Kelss’. That’s what the rest of the family goes by.
“So, my dad, out of pure laziness, completely changed his last name. And now, I think we’re at the point where we’re both riding with Ed ‘Kel-see’. He, for some reason, decided to change it and that’s what we’ve gone by our whole lives. So, we’re kind of separate from the rest of the family in that regard. We’ve gotten plenty of messages and texts since becoming NFL players from extended family members all of the world saying: ‘You’re pronouncing the name wrong!’ So, yeah, that’s the story. But we would honestly go by either one, but I prefer ‘Kel-see’ just because that’s the way I’ve said it my entire life and the way our side of the family has said it.”
So there was a simple explanation for all the confusion surrounding the pronunciation of Kelce. Technically speaking, everyone has been pronouncing the original family surname incorrectly, even the Kelce’s themselves. For that reason, no one should be beating themselves up too much for not knowing about that original pronunciation.
It does raise the question of whether Andy Reid actually knew this story? His pronunciation of the last name did spark all of this confusion in the first place. Reid coached Jason for two seasons in Philadelphia before leaving to join the Chiefs, where he then drafted Travis.
List
Here are the top Chiefs nicknames in football history
