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From Catching Kelce to Rap Covers: 8 Amazing Travis Kelce Moments to Catch Before the Super Bowl
Can't get enough of Travis Kelce? Catch these moments of the Kansas City tight end, off the field.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been topping the professional athlete popularity charts for years, owing to his incredible skill on the field. Kelce is a record-breaking, title-holding, two-time Super Bowl winner, which is more than enough to cement his legacy among sports fans as one of the best to ever play the game. Recently, however, a popularity which was largely limited to football aficionados swiftly bubbled over into wider popular culture. That’s the power of dating Taylor Swift.
Kelce fans hope he'll soon add a third ring to his collection when the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the San Francisco 49ers on February 11, 2024 in Super Bowl LVIII. In the meantime, you can find out what all the fuss is about, and have something to talk about with your dad, by revisiting some of our favorite Travis Kelce moments from off the field.
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Top Travis Kelce Off-the-Field Moments
Travis Kelce Looks for Love on Catching Kelce
In 2016, years before Kelce would start dating the world’s most popular musician, he was the prize on Catching Kelce, a reality dating show streaming now on Peacock. The show brought in 50 contestants, one from each state in the union, to compete for the chance to date a football star.
Despite the overwhelming pool of candidates, the show progressed rapidly. By the end of the first episode the field had been cut by more than half and a winner was chosen just 6 episodes later. Kelce went home with Maya Benberry from Kentucky, but their relationship was short-lived. The duo only dated for a month or so and Kelce has since moved on, both personally and professionally.
Travis Kelce Hosts Saturday Night Live
After winning his second Super Bowl (against his own brother), Kelce was invited to host Saturday Night Live (now streaming on Peacock!). During his monologue, he joked about making Catching Kelce, describing it as kind of like The Bachelor except that instead of giving out roses, he gave out footballs, and instead of people watching, they did not.
The jokes didn’t end there as Kelce went on to play parts in a number of skits, including one called "Straight Male Friend." It plays on the trope that straight men can’t or won’t express their emotions, making them the perfect companions for people who are overwhelmed by their more honest and fulfilling relationships. It’s the same sort of examination of masculinity that the Kelce brothers have become known for on their podcast New Heights, though not quite as earnest.
A Quick SNL Cameo From Travis Kelce
Kelce made a brief surprise return to SNL during the Season 49 premiere. The episode made the rounds across the internet for Pete Davidson’s monologue and the timely "I’m Just Pete" sketch, riffing on the Barbie movie.
Tucked into the middle of an episode, viewers were treated to a fictional segment of Fox NFL Sunday during which the anchors try and fail to talk about football without mentioning Taylor Swift. The only trouble is that most of them are secret Swifties, devolving into an argument about who loves her the most. Kelce appears right at the end as the only person besides Kenan Thompson’s Curt Menefee who actually wants to talk about football.
Dating Deal Breakers on Watch What Happens Live
Back before Kelce had become involved with Swift, even before the premier of his reality dating show Catching Kelce, he appeared briefly in a segment of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. Kelce was seated beside The Real Housewives of New York alum Ramona Singer, and the two discussed dating deal breakers.
Singer asked a series of awkward questions about Kelce’s… um… dating preferences, spurring even more awkward answers. Whatever your feelings about Kelce’s candid answers, they did seem to be honest, and they haven’t appeared to damage his prospects.
Singing the Beastie Boys with Jimmy Fallon
On the heels of his second Super Bowl win, Kelce spent a lot of time at 30 Rock, including a guest appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Most of the segment centers on taking home the trophy, the love he has for his brother Jason, and how exciting it was for them to play together in the last Super Bowl, even on opposite sides.
Kelce also announced his hosting gig on SNL which took place a few weeks later, before he and Fallon transitioned to a performance of the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right.” Kelce is known for singing that song in the locker room to pump up his teammates, so there was no way he was escaping Fallon without a live rendition.
Handing Out Love Advice on The Today Show
After wrapping production of Catching Kelce, the football and reality star appeared on The Today Show to promote the show and talk about why he agreed to do it in the first place. According to Kelce, he had been so focused on his football career for so long that his personal life had taken a back seat. Doing the show was a way to shift his priorities, even if only for a little while.
RELATED: Where to Watch Travis Kelce's Dating Show, Catching Kelce
When asked what he was looking for in a partner, Kelce described someone who is driven to pursue their own goals and accomplishments. While his relationship with Catching Kelce winner Maya Benberry didn’t last long, Kelce’s current paramour certainly checks those boxes.
Next, Kelce hit the street with a poster board sign offering love lessons to real people in real time. It’s unclear if that advice worked out for any of the people he spoke with, but it clearly works for him.
Robots, Fist Fights, and Broken Appliances on Late Night with Seth Meyers
Kelce appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers in 2020, celebrating his first Super Bowl championship. The game wasn’t the only topic of discussion, though. Kelce also took time to promote his philanthropic activities in his local community, including a STEM robotics lab donated to Operation Breakthrough, a youth program located in Kansas City.
Not to paint too pretty a picture, Kelce also told a story of the time he and his brother Jason got into a fistfight in their childhood kitchen. That fight ended with a broken oven and a ruined casserole. It’s the sort of sibling rivalry which is the bane of parents everywhere, but it seems to have paid off for the Kelce family in the long run.
Travis Kelce Has a Meltdown on Hot Ones
Kelce made an appearance during Season 2 of Hot Ones, one of the most innovative interview shows in recent memory. Guests are asked a series of questions while eating a collection of increasingly spicy hot wings, which means that the show usually descends into chaos before long.
Right up front, Kelce says he’s not a spicy food guy, so you know he’s about to have a rough time. He’s pretty coherent through the first half, talking about the making of Catching Kelce and buying Marty McFly’s sneakers from Back to the Future II, after signing a $46 million contract with the Chiefs. After that, things start to fall apart with Kelce struggling to even hear questions and speak. Despite that, Kelce manages to get through all 10 wings and the dab (an extra dollop of hot sauce on the final wing), promising to “shotgun Pepto” or go to the hospital afterward.
If you're looking for even more Travis Kelce moments, watch him hosting SNL on Peacock!
