Travis Kelce admits to feeling emotional after possible 'last hurrah' in Cleveland
After the Kansas City Chiefs' 21-7 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Travis Kelce couldn't help but get emotional. On Wednesday's episode of the "New Heights" podcast, the Chiefs TE opened up about how it felt like a bittersweet farewell to his hometown.
"Dude, I just love that city," he began on his podcast. [10:17] "It was so fun. I felt like a tour guide just telling everybody, every single city that we were going past, every monument, every building."
Kelce added:
"Everything from the from just flying into the city, seeing the skyline. I just, I have such a love for an appreciation for how we grew up and the fun that we had and all the people that we knew that helped mold me and have the values that I have today, and a lot of them were at the game and I knew they were at the game. It felt awesome."
He continued:
"Whether it was my friends being there, my friends' parents being there, you know, my childhood friends' kids now watching me like I was a little kid watching the Browns and it's just, it's so crazy to drive to the stadium."
Before rising to NFL stardom, he and his brother, Eagles legend Jason Kelce, studied at Cleveland Heights High School. Thus, the Chiefs clash against the Browns on Sunday wasn’t just another stop on the schedule. It was a homecoming filled with nostalgia for Travis Kelce.
"I don't know if it's the last time I'll ever play in Cleveland,” Kelce confessed. "But it kind of felt like I was giving it one last hurrah before I'm done. "
In his 12 years of NFL career, the three-time Super Bowl champion has only played twice at the Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, OH. This is primarily due to how the NFL scheduling system works and the conference alignment of the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.
Travis Kelce’s Cleveland roots run deep
Travis Kelce was born in nearby Westlake, Ohio on October 5, 1989. While attending Cleveland Heights High School, he excelled in football, basketball and baseball. However, he had to step out of Cleveland to play NCAA football at the University of Cincinnati for the Bearcats.
Interestingly, the name of Travis Kelce's "New Heights" podcast is a nod to his upbringing in Cleveland Heights.
While Travis Kelce’s NFL stardom has taken him far from his Ohio roots, the city’s influence on him continues.