Travis Kelce. Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images
Travis Kelce is on a mission to prove his doubters wrong at the Super Bowl — which means booze has been taking a backseat.
During Super Bowl media availability on Thursday, February 6, Kelce, 35, was asked by “Bussin’ With the Boys” podcast cohost Will Compton how he’d respond to critics who think the Kansas City Chiefs tight end has “lost a step.”
Kelce began pounding the podium and said, “That’s motivation right there, isn’t it?”
“I’ve been eating clean, I haven’t been drinking as much,” Kelce explained. “A little lower on the pounds this week. So hopefully I can run away from some [Philadelphia] Eagles out there.”
The question about Kelce’s on-field performance comes after a down year statistically for the future Hall of Famer. Kelce earned 823 receiving yards in the regular season, the lowest total of his career, and just three regular season touchdowns — another career low.
Kelce, however, was a big factor in the Chiefs’ AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Houston Texans on January 18, scoring a touchdown and amassing 177 yards.
In the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game victory over the Buffalo Bills on January 26, Kelce caught only two passes for 19 yards — in addition to being fined $11,000 by the NFL for “unsportsmanlike conduct.”
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Kelce has made a concerted effort to take care of his body away from the field, as Kansas City Chiefs executive chef Erin Wishon recently told Us Weekly. Wishon explained how Kelce’s personal chef and childhood friend, Kumar Ferguson, keeps Kelce in shape throughout the season.
“He’s fantastic,” Wishon said of Ferguson. “He does a really nice job of balancing healthy, well thought out, comprehensively nutritious meals. From the splurging that we all think Travis does, he strikes a balance.”
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Wishon added, “I think people would be surprised how all of the guys are very, very focused and very serious. I think when it comes to the guys who have bigger personalities or are more seen, [people] think they’re not focused. But they are just honed in. The success that they’ve had, they don’t take that for granted. That’s the culture here. It just is what it is.”
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While Kelce is being extra proactive about his diet, he said nothing about his mental preparation for taking the field at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome for Super Bowl LIX.
“I really don’t have too many crazy routines,” Kelce told reporters on Thursday. “I really just show up to the game ready to play some football and ready to go out all for the guys that I’m playing with.”
The Chiefs face the Eagles Sunday, February 9, in Super Bowl LIX at 6:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
