The Pied Piper of Sea Isle

The Magnetic Jason Kelce Will Have More Time for the Shore Now

Jason Kelce takes a selfie for fans last summer at his celebrity bartending fundraiser for autism at Ocean Drive.

The iconic Eagle accepts a bottle of water after finishing the Mike’s Seafood Walk/Run.

You could not invent a character more perfect for Philadelphia and Sea Isle City than Jason Kelce.

Nope. No way. Couldn’t be done.

Imagine that the Philly Phanatic was a real human being who could run over people on a football field, win a Super Bowl, and then celebrate during the summer by chugging a beer on the beach in Sea Isle City.

That’s what we’ve got with Jason Kelce. He has become Marvel meets reality, complete with a summer home in Sea Isle, and a permanent address in the hearts of Philadelphia sports fans. That permanent residence was sadly made official in early March when Kelce finally made all the fears of Philadelphia sports fans come to fruition when he announced his retirement.

Notice, this was not a fear of “Eagles fans,” but a case of Philadelphia sports fans, because over the course of his 13-year career he became as much a part of Philadelphia lore as Eagles lore.

Of course, the retirement speech was epic, just like his performance and speech at the Super Bowl parade was epic, as much as his play on the field was so epic that it will surely land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In the meantime, residents of Sea Isle City and the Jersey Shore will get the bonus of Kelce and his family possibly spending more time on the island, and more time bonding with the community.

As much as it’s cool to see Kelce’s brother Travis and the family spending time with Stone Harbor’s Taylor Swift, it’s much more real to see Kelce and his wife Kylie and children around Philadelphia and Sea Isle City.

Who needs Taylor Swift when you’ve got Kylie, who in her own right is so Philadelphian. How perfect was it that Kylie would not wear any Chiefs gear to see Travis at the Super Bowl, because she was born and raised an Eagles fan, and who would want to be seen in that stuff in Sea Isle – even if Travis has hung out here with his brother in recent summers?

Nope, this isn’t the Taylor Swift global tour; this will be a yearly summer version of the Philly Special, complete with an annual weekend of celebration at The Ocean Drive, and participating in annual events as “Jason from Sea Isle” rather than Jason the star athlete. All you had to see to know the authenticity of the character was to watch Kelce take part in Mike’s Seafood Run/Walk for Autism six days after celebrating his brother’s Super Bowl win in Las Vegas.

No big publicity splash here. In fact, it was a low-key appearance; Kylie stopped by several hours before the race to register her husband.

And from there -- well, when Jason Kelce arrives, there is a party. He ran the race and when it was over, he not only stopped to sign hundreds of autographs for kids but led them down JFK Boulevard in a pied piper gaggle of smiles and laughter.

Arguably Philly’s most popular sports star, the Eagles All-Pro center announces his retirement in March.

Those pictures and videos from the event were picked up coast-to-coast, shining a bright light on Sea Isle, and just making people feel good.

As much as Jason Kelce is the perfect athlete for Philadelphia, he and his family are a perfect match for the fun, sun, and charity of Sea Isle City and the Jersey Shore. How often do you come across an NFL player who can wear a $50,000 watch, a cut-off hoodie, and flip-flops while strumming a guitar and howling a tune for a charity holiday album?

Philadelphia has been blessed with many great athletes, but it’s hard to imagine any who have meshed so perfectly with the region. Yes, there was Dr. J, but he was just too cool; Mike Schmidt was reserved; Chase Utley and his crew a bit distant; and not even the Flyers’ cast of characters of the ’70s had the one figure who could lead a conga line like Jason Kelce.

Maybe if Charles Barkley’s Sixers had been more successful, he would have been that sort of character, but it’s Kelce who has the championship ring, and Kelce who led the parade.

Like Barkley, Kelce might have a great future in TV or whatever media he chooses. Then again, he might head toward the music industry, film, youth sports – who knows what he has up his sleeve? – oops, there are no sleeves!

Truly it is sad that Kelce won’t be leading the Eagles on the field in the future, sad that he won’t be leading the Tush Push, sad he won’t be roaring downfield and delivering a ridiculous lead block.

But that will be a lot less sad when you come down to the Shore and to Sea Isle and know that summers will be a little bit longer in the area for the Kelce family, and that will make a whole lot of summers a whole lot better for so many people, for a very long time.