Rising media superstar Jason Kelsey takes an extended trip monday night football The guys in the booth caught wind of this move during the Falcons-Eagles game last night. Eagles fans were definitely thrilled by this move.
and infuriated Falcons fan base.
partisan fan (In other wordsAll fans) often spend much of their time scrutinizing every word spoken by those working a given game, looking for any evidence that someone talking “hates” their team. They routinely ignore the good and focus on the bad, often turning harmless comments into signs that the broadcasters are “favoring” the other team.
Falcons fans didn't need tinfoil hats last night. As many have said (including Devin McCourty on Tuesday) PFT Live), Kelce's appearance made it feel like an Eagles preseason broadcast.
Kelce is great, and his talents are (in my opinion) wasted on pregame shows. He would make a great game analyst. But stuffing him into the booth for another Eagles game without him playing would only annoy people who follow the other team,
Kelce should have been in the booth by the time things got really interesting. Wouldn't it have been great to hear what he had to say about the decision to pass on third-and-3 from the Atlanta 10 with less than two minutes left to play and the Falcons out of timeouts? Would he have been critical, or would he have been a (former) company man?
Why wasn't he put on standby for the postgame show? This would have been a great opportunity for Kelce to open up about why the Eagles did what they did. And whether they should have done something differently.
Kelce is probably glad he wasn't in a position to comment on this situation. If he had defended the Eagles, many would have rolled their eyes. If he had questioned the coaching decision, he might have received a little blowback from his former team.
That's the real test for Kelce. Can he risk upsetting the only team he's ever played for — and inviting the ire of Philly fans — by speaking the truth as he sees it?
First, he has to rewire his brain to see it, moving from “we” to “they.” And understand that his primary duty now is to the audience.