Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce met up with the Team USA women's rugby sevens players following their win vs. Brazil at the Olympics. This is when the star player Ilona Maher made a case for Kelce to represent the U.S. rugby team as their official hype man.
"Women's water polo has Flavor Flav as their superfan," Maher told Kelce. "You are a girl dad."
This is awesome….Jason Kelce with his beret went to visit Ilona Maher and the rest of @USARugby and he’s is all in….now just need a collab with @FlavorFlav pic.twitter.com/SGbLW3GKuN
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) July 29, 2024
Maher reminded Kelce of the perks, or rather lack thereof, if he accepts the offer, "There's no reward, no money, no benefits, I don't think I can get you free stuff."
Kelce responded, "You're a great salesman... I am officially a fan of women's rugby, Olympics."
"We got Jason Kelce!" Maher exclaimed, as the whole team cheered.
This led to one of the strongest players on the team, Nicole Heavirland, challenging the nearly 300-pound former NFL player to an arm wrestling competition.
Tough competition! Watch Jason Kelce arm wrestle US rugby Olympian Nicole Heavirland 💪 pic.twitter.com/oTNQ7xalfw
— Page Six (@PageSix) July 29, 2024
Heavirland showcased her incredible strength as the six-time Pro Bowler visibly struggled to finish off the match. That is to say, despite Kelce winning, there was some controversy surrounding whether some of the rules were broken.
Grabbing something with your off hand is not against any rules according to the guidelines set forth by the IFAW (International Federation of Arm Wrestling). https://t.co/Mg9225R94y
— Jason Kelce (@JasonKelce) July 28, 2024
In view of the on-field competition, as the Olympic rugby games got underway this past weekend, the U.S. women's team dominated, with Maher helping lead the squad to a win against Japan (36-7) and Brazil (24-5).
ILONA MAHER COMING THROUGH. 💥#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/Im8JPa5WPs
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 28, 2024
To note, despite a valiant effort, the Americans fell short in a 31-14 loss against the host country France. However, the team re-grouped before winning against Great Britain (17-7) in the quarterfinals, which means they will advance to the Olympic semi-final round for the first time ever.
History made for the USA! They are into the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time 🦅#Paris2024 | #RugbySevens pic.twitter.com/c2WzpSBSU0
— Rugby Sevens (@SVNSSeries) July 29, 2024
Maybe Kelce will get some credit as he is the team's new official superfan after all.
"He's a girl dad," Maher said. "He's somebody who supports women's sports... So for him to be supporting us was really cool."
Former NFL star Jason Kelce is in the building for Day 1 of the Women's sevens 👀 🏉 🏈 #RugbySevens pic.twitter.com/hgAc3IREM4
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 28, 2024
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