With word rapidly going around on Tuesday that legendary Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce would finally be hanging up that No. 62 jersey (after years of consideration), an expected amount of salutes and memories have been making the rounds.
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Perhaps one of the funniest — and completely understandable — nuggets about one of the most popular Eagles in recent memory was what Kelce shouted before each and every "Tush Push," aka "The Brotherly Shove."
We're learning about this now because this is simply not something that can be reported during an NFL national broadcast. And, really, it's the type of thing that a reporter saves for times like these.
Here's what Fox Sports' Laura Okmin finally got to share regarding Kelce's emotional exclamation for each of these now-iconic and brutalizing plays:
My favorite quote of the season was one I couldn’t say on TV. Explaining the toll the tush push takes on you, @JasonKelce told me upon push, he yells, “FU@K MY LIFE!” (Jalen Hurts confirmed) Here’s to a man who also screams - and lives -
“I LOVE my life” just as passionately. pic.twitter.com/yd0g2az9bB— Laura Okmin (@LauraOkmin) January 16, 2024
Considering the physicality of the play itself and that Kelce is the one at the true point of contact, directing traffic in all sorts of ways and making sure he properly hikes the ball to Jalen Hurts, "F*** MY LIFE!" could not be more appropriate. Throw in his well-known sense of humor, and it makes even more sense.
Very few players like Jason Kelce can be as intense as it gets while also being hilarious at the same time.
While the following replay of a failed attempt at the "Tush Push" in the Eagles' season-ending playoff loss to the Buccaneers would never be among Kelce's favorites, it tells you precisely why he would scream such a thing every time the play was called.
I don’t understand why no one is talking about how Bucs DT Greg Gaines initiated the stop of the Tush Push.
Look how low he gets, lower than Kelce.
The rest is history.
— CJ (@Th3GhostRaider) January 16, 2024
This is basically a jailbreak on both sides of the ball, making it nearly impossible for referees to keep eyeballs on everything happening in such a massive, mess of a pile. Like tossing up a Hail Mary, with the great exception that all 22 players on the field are partaking in the action, to the point that it certainly feels like an "anything goes" type of play with so many bodies bunched up into such a tiny piece of real estate.
This melee in particular more or less tells the story. Check out what happens to Jalen Hurts on the failed attempt:
How do you stop the Tush Push?
Just try to tear Jalen Hurts head off of his body. No big deal 😂 🤣 pic.twitter.com/im3wy5jlzs— Rich Ohrnberger (@ohrnberger) January 16, 2024
Yes, it looks like Hurts would have been stopped anyway. But why not attempt to peel off his head for good measure? Hence, Kelce's primal, NSFW scream prior to the madness each time a 4th-and-1 rolled around. And make no mistake about it, the play happened quite frequently. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni didn't just reserve this one strictly for when a potential touchdown was on the line. He called it almost anywhere beyond the 50-yard line.
Not exactly a picnic for the offensive line, but it's what led to a slew of extended drives and was as close to unstoppable as a play can be in the NFL.
In the closing minutes of Philadelphia's 32-9 loss on Monday — to the surprise of no one — Kelce looked physically exhausted and emotionally spent. It looked like it might be time and apparently it was. Although it's completely understandable for the 36-year-old center to be announcing his retirement after everything he's given to the Eagles organization, where he spent all 13 of his NFL seasons.
