Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce gave a galvanizing speech at the Eagles victory parade. Kelce’s one-of-a-kind speech is already a viral smash and a favorite in the rankings of great victory speeches. Kelce laced it with just the right amount of enthusiastic profanity. He delivered it in a husky-voice with righteous rage. And he did something highly unusual, besides being in a Mummers costume when he spoke: Kelce called out his teammates (and coaches and management) one by one and instead of praising them, Kelce enumerated the knocks on them, repeating what the naysayers and critics had said. It was a litany of derision and it had the opposite effect of criticism, because the Eagles had just proved all the naysayers wrong. Instead of saying what his teammates did well, Kelce used the opposite technique. By naming what people said they lacked, he made it obvious that those lacks were wrong. Here’s a sample.
Jason Peters is too old. Stefen Wisniewski wasn’t good enough. Brandon Brooks has anxiety. Torrey Smith can’t catch. Corey Clement’s too slow. Zach Ertz can’t block. Jalen Mills can’t cover. Kelce’s too small.
Wait, who said Kelce was too small? How about the NFL.com site, in its combine overview. Here’s the quote: “Kelce has the mobility and mentality to make it as a reserve center in the NFL. However, does not have the size or power to project as a starter.” Followed by: “Does not possess adequate bulk or much growth potential.”
Must. Watch.
Jason Kelce’s @Eagles Championship speech ???
?: @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/mDlCLy0lhc
— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2018
— shami (@bleedgreen___) February 8, 2018
