Travis Kelce begs fans to leave 'Rocky' statue alone

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Travis Kelce begs Chiefs fans to leave 'Rocky' statue alone

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 2/3/23

Superstar tight end Travis Kelce has one request for Kansas City Chiefs fans ahead of the Super Bowl LVII matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Chiefs (fans). Do not touch the f------ 'Rocky' memorial," Kelce remarked during the latest edition of the "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce" podcast, as shared by Matt Audilet of The Spun. "Do not do that, alright? Definitely don’t put an 87 (jersey) on there. Do not do that."

After the Eagles smashed the San Francisco 49ers to the tune of 31-7 in last Sunday's NFC Championship Game, Jamie Apody of Philadelphia's WPVI-TV pointed out that the last three fan bases to place opposing jerseys on the iconic statue linked with the famous movie during postseason tournaments witnessed their teams suffer brutal defeats.

The curse of the Rocky Statue is REAL. The last 3 playoff teams to mess with him? Scored only 7 points against the @Eagles

EaglesGalaxy Insta pic.twitter.com/cAQm34ZrkF
— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) January 30, 2023

Certain San Francisco supporters may regret their actions considering the 49ers lost starting quarterback Brock Purdy early in the contest. Some players later suggested the NFL preferred for the Eagles to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl after Purdy went down with an elbow injury that could sideline him for an entire year:

Niners fans are out here messing with the Rocky statue

(via @DiBirdsBlog) pic.twitter.com/WjgDWHBaoG
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 27, 2023

Meanwhile, Eagles center Jason Kelce, Travis' brother, offered a different theory about any supposed desecration of the statue during the podcast.

"I’m gonna be honest, I think somebody from Philadelphia is doing this now," Jason told Travis. "I don’t think this is an opposing team thing at this point. There’s no way opposing teams continue to do this. I’m convinced there is a Philadelphia fan who is putting these shirts on the Rocky statue just to get everyone fired up and it’s working tremendously. So keep doing it."

Eagles fans willingly and knowingly climbed greased-up poles to celebrate the team merely earning a Super Bowl berth last Sunday night. Logic suggests somebody willing to risk his health for such an occasion would place a Chiefs jersey on the "Rocky" statue for even a few hours to gift the Eagles positive karma next weekend.

Travis and Jason are on track to become the first brothers to play against each other in a Super Bowl. Perhaps they can visit the "Rocky" statue together after the big game regardless of which team wins.

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