The budding media superstar Jason Kelce visited the Monday Night Football Stand during the Falcons-Eagles game last night. The move certainly excited the Eagles fans.
And he made those who were fond of the Falcons angry.
Partisan fans (ieFans (all fans) often spend much of their time scrutinizing every word the commentators say on a given game, looking for evidence that a commentator “hates” their team. They routinely ignore the good and obsess over the bad, often twisting innocuous comments into an indication that the commentators are “for” the other team.
Falcons fans didn’t need tinfoil hats last night. As many have said (including Devin McCourty on Tuesday) PFTLive), Kelce’s presence made it seem like an Eagles preseason broadcast.
Kelce is great, and his talents are being wasted (in my opinion) on a pregame show. He could make a great game analyst. But putting him in the locker room without him for only the Eagles’ second game will only anger those who follow the other team.
When things got really interesting, Kelce should have been in the locker room. Wouldn’t it have been great to hear what he had to say about the decision to pass on third-and-three from Atlanta’s 10 with less than two minutes left to play and the Falcons out of timeouts? Would he have been critical, or would he have been a (former) company man?
Why not have him on standby for the postgame broadcast? That would have been a perfect opportunity for Kelce to offer blunt, real commentary on why the Eagles did what they did and whether they should have done anything differently.
Kelce is probably glad he wasn’t in a position to comment on the situation. Had he defended the Eagles, many would have rolled their eyes. Had he criticized the coaching decision, he might have faced a little backlash from his former team.
This is the true test for Kelce. Can he risk upsetting the only team he’s ever played for – and drawing the wrath of Philly fans – by telling the unvarnished truth as he sees it?
To realize this, he must first reprogram his brain and switch from “we” to “them.” And he must realize that his primary duty is now to the audience.
