AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Jason Kelce gave a memorable speech after the Eagles won Super Bowl LII on just a day's notice.
- Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce became a Philadelphia legend last season, not only for his play on the field but also for his passionate speech at the team's Super Bowl parade.
- Speaking with Business Insider, Kelce explained that he came up with the idea for the speech in the days after the team's Super Bowl win when he found himself unable to sleep.
- Kelce was unsure of how the speech would be received by the sports world at large but felt it was something he had to share.
When the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII, it was a historic moment for a city starved for a championship.
Underdogs in every game through their playoff run, the Eagles overcame the odds, again and again, to lift the Lombardi Trophy in a moment that the city will never forget.
Capping off the dreamlike sequence for Philadelphia sports fans was the Eagles celebratory parade, and specifically, center Jason Kelce's speech. Adorned in mummer's attire, Kelce went through his Eagles brethren, explaining the obstacles each of them had overcome.
Kelce recently spoke with Business Insider about his epic speech while promoting Old Spice's new line of beard care products, which he has endorsed, along with his brother Travis.
Kelce explained his process in writing his Super Bowl parade speech, and as it turns out, the whole thing came together thanks in part to a bit of insomnia.
"I had struggled sleeping after the game," Kelce told Business Insider. "I was constantly in my bed thinking about my journey, my family's journey. And then I started thinking that it's not just me that's overcome things - I start thinking about other guys on the team. Nick Foles, a backup quarterback that was passed on by St. Louis, working his way back onto the Eagles, and winning a Super Bowl. I start thinking about all my offensive linemates, all the defensive players - everybody - coach [Doug Pederson], Howie Roseman."
But the speech really came together when Kelce brought the city of Philadelphia itself into the narrative.
"I started to really see the correlation with the city and the fans, and how long they've been waiting for a championship, and how many times they've had it come so close and not have it happen - the feeling they must feel as an underdog in the eyes of some of the other NFC East fans. I think as all that came together, it was easy for it to come out all in that moment."
While the speech eventually came out in perfect form, it's not something that Kelce had practiced much, or even written down.
"I had the structure to it," Kelce told Business Insider. "I knew I wanted to start with Howie Roseman, and then go to my teammates. But it wasn't something I had to write down, because it's something that had been actively playing itself out throughout the whole season, and through guys' whole careers. The structure was there, and I knew the narrative that I wanted to hit with everybody. And that's kind of how it manifested itself."
The speech immediately made it's way into Philadelphia sports history, right alongside Chase Utley utterance of "World F---ing Champions!" at the Phillies parade in 2008, but Kelce noted that he was unsure of what kind of reaction his rallying cry would get initially.
"I knew it was going to get a reaction - I didn't know how it was going to be received necessarily, but I don't think at that point I really cared," Kelce said. "I just decided to go up there and say something that I had been feeling for a long time."
"I wasn't prepared either way for it be positive or negative," Kelce explained. "It was just something that I thought needed to be said."
As for the beard oil, Kelce is a big fan.
"I'm a big fan of the beard oil," Kelce explained. "It really keeps it soft. I use the beard wash too because my wife is really on me to make sure there's not all types of bacteria and food left up in there. But the whole line is great."