Travis Kelce reveals 'cheat code' that helped him play alongside brother Jason
Travis Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce invited first baseman of the LA Dodgers, Freddie Freeman, to their podcast, "New Heights." While having a candid conversation on their podcast, Freeman explained how his father played a crucial role during his recovery phase from injuries.
The topic prompted Travis to speak about his father too, as he revealed how a certain 'cheat code' allowed him to play alongside Jason while growing up.
“I had a cheat code," Travis recalled. "My dad, Big Ed Kelce, would go to all the teams that Jason was on and he'd be like 'Hey, just put this guy on your roster. You never know when you're going to need an extra body.'”
Travis further added:
“And sure enough, I would play, at least, a handful of games. Two years older. I'm facing guys that are like throwing real hard.”
Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce's fierce rivalry
The opportunity created by Ed Kelce helped Travis in the long run as it gave him an unfair advantage from a very young age. The two brothers are almost two years apart, with Jason being born in 1987. Since Travis got opportunities to play alongside older kids, his skills developed faster comparatively.
Although father Ed wanted the boys to play baseball more, he was still responsible for their early development.
“But our father was so responsible for our love of sports, our love of just competing,” Travis affirmed.
The two brothers grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, where Ed worked in steel and his mother Donna in banking. They were competitive and Travis would try to get the upper hand at almost everything which Jason found annoying. Most of the time, he would even instigate fights just to get his brother’s attention.
Their competitiveness carried into their NFL days till Jason’s retirement last year. They faced each other for one last time as Travis triumphed over Jason at the biggest stage of them all, the Super Bowl. Hence, Jason has no choice but to acknowledge his younger brother’s supremacy.
Jason Kelce admits Travis Kelce is better than him
When Freeman asked who was better among the two brothers, Jason replied that he was better during their childhood as he had the advantage of age by his side. However, Travis was better at achieving each milestone at a younger age.
Hence, Jason feels that Travis is slightly better than him. Although many fans would side with Jason’s words, it can be said that the elder brother was being modest.