The Kansas City Chiefs got their asses handed to them at the Super Bowl. While I don’t know much about football, I know the Philadelphia Eagles dog-walked the Chiefs and it looked like the Chiefs had no idea what they were doing out there. What was the problem? Was it a choke? Did Patrick Mahomes just get outplayed? Or was Travis Kelce sick during the game and that affected the whole team? The Chiefs GM now says that Travis was “battling a pretty big illness” ahead of the game. O RLY?
Travis Kelce was fighting a “big illness” before his Super Bowl defeat. Brett Veach, 47, General Manager of Kelce’s team, the Kansas City Chiefs, spoke about the issues facing the tight end in the run-up to the game on an upcoming episode of the NFL podcast, The Insiders.
Noting that he wasn’t “making excuses” for the Chiefs’ loss, Veach said that Kelce was “battling a pretty big illness” before the Super Bowl, which took place on Feb. 9, in New Orleans.
He then quipped that Kelce’s illness didn’t make much difference to the score as the Eagles — who won 40-22 — played so well. “We didn’t have the end to our season that we hoped for,” he added. Touching on the loss, Veach admitted that the Chiefs had “picked a bad day to have a bad day.” But he said that the team would use the experience as “motivation to get better.”
“You learn more from your losses than your wins,” Veach added.
The Chiefs boss then addressed the swirling rumors that Kelce, 35, is set to retire. When asked if the star would return for the 2025 season, Veach said, “I think so. We anticipate Travis being back. We’re excited to have Travis back.”
He also noted that Kelce shares a unique relationship with “Pat” — quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 29 — and revealed that he “finds a way to stay in shape and produce at a level that only he can.” “He makes us better when he’s in our locker room and on our field and we’re excited to get him back,” Veach continued, adding that Kelce had “accomplished everything that there is in this game.”
That’s interesting that the GM believes Kelce will be back. As for the “big illness”… I wonder. While Travis stayed inside the night before the game, on Friday night (Feb. 7), he went out to dinner with Taylor Swift in New Orleans. People Mag carried exclusive photos. Was he ill that night, or did the illness hit afterwards? Now I wonder if they’re talking about food poisoning? It would actually fit the timeline if Travis was fine Friday night, or well enough to go out to a restaurant with Taylor. My other theory is that his head hurt from that Turkish hair transplant!!! All I know is that Travis had a weirdly full mane on game day but maybe it was painful!
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red.
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018208, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018211, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018214, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
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- Kansas City Chiefs media day during Super Bowl LIX, New Orleans, LA, USA – 03 Feb 2025 Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce87 talks to the media. New Orleans LA USA, UK NEWSPAPERS OUT Copyright: xx,Image: 960018220, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Avalon
Weirdly full mane?
We watched that man grow his hair out from the awkward phase at the start of the season where he got clowned by everyone for how bad it looked to where it was at the Super Bowl.
I don’t know. Nowadays I tend to get suspicious when any celebrity with a bit of a receding hairline appears with a buzz-cut before coming back with that very straight hairline. Look at Andrew Garfield who probably had hair transplant at some point because his hairline moved forward which literally never happens. Nevertheless, some hair transplants are better than others so it could really be possible that Kelce has had some work done at some point.
His “receding hairline” was just the fact that he had a buzzed head for years before he started growing out his hair at the beginning of football season last year.
Besides the fact that the men in his whole family still have full heads of hair, when would the supposed “hair plugs” take place? Timelines just don’t add up
Hair plugs are painful, he wouldn’t have been able to wear a helmet. Also it takes up to a year for hair to grow in fully so I’m of the opinion he just let his hair grow in. The Kelce boys are very hirsute!
Yes, for those of us who watch football, the hair isn’t a surprise. But even if you only followed Taylor/Travis, you’d have seen his hair getting longer in October and November.
Agreed! And his hair grows exactly like his Dad’s hair! The hair plug comments are strange.
I’m dubious and it feels like a deflection from the fact that two huge leaders of the team decided to eat out and pap walk two nights before a game when everyone knows they could have eaten out in private, or, better yet, stuck with the team. And his game was not great but he didn’t seem gassed. The entire team was outplayed and it felt more like they did not prepare for this particular match-up and maybe assumed they would win.
Excuses excuses Travis was sick. No they got outplayed by the eagles and the refs did nothing to help them for a change.
BINGO!
The truth was Eagles Defense
won the game. They sacked Chief QB SIX times. Mahomes and his Offense Linemen were really bad that day. Kelce hardly got many chances to catch the ball, sick or not, when your QB was down on the ground.
Totally OT:
How could UK people sit through the Superbowl broadcast on ITV? The commentators and the game announcers were so bad, they kept talking, none stop, the whole games. It’s like they were doing a chatty podcast instead of a football game, and their salary depended on how many words they said? I’ve watched NFL games on American Networks: CBS, ABC/ESPN, NBC, and FOX. During game time, you hear the 2 game announcers talk the play-by-play on the field/pitch, and the commentators comment at half-time and before & after the game. The funny thing was the few football/soccer games that I’ve seen on UK TV or Eurosports, the announcers said little. There’s a lot of dead time especially if the game pace was slow.
This! The Birds defense ruled.
And so did Eagles QB Jalen Hurts and the offense. It was just a complete game from the Eagles that crushed the Chiefs. And yes, the refs couldn’t rescue the Chiefs this time.
The quote, which isn’t here in full but is at least alluded to enough for you to know better, literally says “Listen, the way the Eagles played, it wouldn’t have made a difference.” He wasn’t providing excuses for the loss, he was responding to suggestions that Kelce is washed because he didn’t have a big game.
Turkish Hair Transplant is sending me!!
They got outplayed by the Eagles defense. Mahomes didn’t know his own name by the end of that game. Travis being sick didn’t matter. It was the Chiefs O-Line that was totally decimated.
I know, it reminded me of the Super Bowl against Brady and the Bucs. Mahomes “gained” more yards running backwards than forwards.
Right?? How many times did Mahomes get sacked? Somewhere around a half dozen, I think. I mean, that was some ARod level sacking.
Six sacks.
Also, Jalen Carter on the Eagles defense was sick before the game too, it was reported a day or two prior to the Superbowl, and it was reported that there was something going through the locker room, so he wasn’t the only one. It wouldn’t surprise me if Travis was sick too, so much was going around, but I don’t want to hear that as an excuse for why the Chiefs got spanked.
And the real score is 40-6, those other points were against the 2nd and 3rd string and the Eagles were already celebrating!
I just think his dress sense looks out of place since he reverted back to being a redneck.
Oh please! “Sickness” made them lose?? Was “Par” also suffering from a big illness too?
That suit and those shoes are f**ckery on a platter. He lost when he got off the bus.
I feel like all he needs is a fedora with a feather to go with that burned orange suit and he’d have a perfect 1970s pimp costume.
I nearly spit out my coffee. LOL.
Kid Creole called and wants his zoot suit back.
Travis’ numbers had been down across the board throughout the entire 24/25 season. He had a couple good games, but that was it. Hence, the speculation about a retirement.
This reads like “I’m not trying to make excuses, BUT…” to me.
Don’t know if he was sick or not. He’s only one guy. However they all basically sucked.
Ignoring everything in and surrounding this article, I absolutely love that he is wearing a big old Avon brooch from 1974. Or its approximation. I approve.
Here we go with the excuses. No dude you got outplayed and your team lost. The Eagles or better and including how they dress! That suit he wore in that picture above, is hideous!
OMG now he’s starting to sound like someone he has started to like, Trump. The man with all the excuses and lies.
To be fair, Travis isn’t the one being quoted here – these statements are from the general manager.
I wouldn’t bother. This is the same kind of vibe that had so many people online going off earlier this week about how the perfectly progressive Eagles in contrast to the evil Chiefs weren’t going to the Trump White House… only for subsequent reporting from actual NFL reporters with actual contacts in the building to say ‘hang on, the invitation hasn’t been extended yet, and chances are they will be going if invited…’
@Mandragora – yeah, I get you. I don’t have any special love for the Chiefs, but I do have a love of reading and the GM’s name is right there in front of our faces.
This might be one of my fave comments. “I don’t have any special love for the Chiefs, but I do have a love of reading” 😂
It doesn’t read as making excuses for the loss at all to me. At most, it was offering an explaination as to Kelce’s bad playing THAT game.
I said to my hub at the start of the game that Kelce looked off. I thought it weird if he was nervous becasue that’s not like him. He was very subdued on the sidelines as well. He’s a captain for a reason and getting the team revved up is one of them. He definitely wasn’t his usual self most of the game.
As for Kelce’s numbers being down? Uh, yeah, because he’s a team player and opponets had double coverage on him most of the year. This allowed other players to step up. This has been talked about ad nauseum all season. He’s fine with it. It’s been discussed about letting the other players “eat”. That’s how you grow the depth of the team
The beard makes him look ten years older… maybe shave?
Well, if he wasn’t sick before the game, he sure was sick after. He looked like absolute hell on what I guess is the last New Heights podcast until next football season
He was pretty honest about the game: gracious to the Eagles; heart-broken for his team-mates; and very hard on himself. I got the sense he’ll retire, but maybe this break will make him change his mind.
I recommend that podcast episode. It’s interesting dynamic between the two brothers – particularly at the end where Jason tries to raise Travis’ spirits by citing all the records he’s broken. Travis isn’t having it.
Finally, Jason makes a joke at his own expense regarding his record of unmissed games. He says something like: “He’s back! – Look at that little fella run! – How’d he do? – Nobody knows, but that’s another game under his belt!” and they both laughed.