Travis And Jason Kelce Offer Glimpse Into The Chaos Of Their Family Thanksgiving

Brothers Travis and Jason Kelce may pay for different NFL teams, but off the field, they have a pretty close relationship. They even have their own podcast together called "New Heights" on which they discuss everything from their shared love of the sport to what family life is like. In a recent episode, they chatted about their favorite Thanksgiving side dishes as well as some of their favorite family Thanksgiving memories. There were plenty of them, but there's one Turkey Day recollection that really seems to stand out in both of their minds. 

As you might have guessed considering Travis and Jason's chosen profession, when the brothers were little, they'd play a pickup game of football at the park on Thanksgiving Day before the big meal. But what you might not have guessed is how much drama there was at the Thanksgiving dinner table with Travis. Travis, as it turns out, is a picky eater, and it sounds like if he decided not to eat something, it didn't sit well with their dad. "Our Thanksgivings [...] it just always ended in tears, with Travis at the table and dad screaming at him," Jason revealed. Travis laughed at the memory and pretended to cry as Jason imitated their dad saying, "Eat the food! Be thankful!"

It wasn't the first time they've talked about the very clear memory of Jason and Travis Kelce's dad Ed Kelce yelling at Travis to finish his food at Thanksgiving. It came up in the 2022 Thanksgiving episode of their podcast as well, when Travis explained what it was exactly that he had an issue with eating at Thanksgiving. "It was the stuffing and the mashed potatoes," Jason explained. But there was still plenty for him to eat as he listed off the things he would finish without a problem at Thanksgiving: "corn, mac and cheese, the rolls, the ham" — that sounds like plenty to us!

And while turkey is the traditional and most popular main dish on the big day — over 46 million turkeys are consumed across the country at Thanksgiving  — the Kelce family skipped turkey in favor of honey-baked ham, and sometimes they'd even change it up with pork chops. The must-have Thanksgiving side for both brothers was definitely "Mama Kelce's dinner rolls." Travis also noted that mac and cheese was a personal fvorite. While rolls are a pretty well-accepted classic side dish for Thanksgiving, mac and cheese is more debatable, though clearly it was a tradition for the Kelce family.

As much as Jason and Travis Kelce love the rolls that their mom Donna Kelce makes for Thanksgiving, they don't often get to enjoy them on at their mom's house anymore (Donna and Ed Kelce divorced after Jason and Travis left college). Considering that both Travis and Jason are NFL players, their work schedules are packed during the holidays, whether it's playing a game or prepping for one. Donna explained to People what it was like to be a football mom during the holidays, saying, "Ever since they were in college, we've always been on the road for Thanksgiving. It's either been in Cincinnati when they were at the University of Cincinnati or we're at one of their homes. So I've never been in my own home cooking for Christmas or for holidays."

This year, Jason was in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving with his immediate family — Jason and his wife Kylie Kelce have three daughters — and he did invite Travis to come eat with them. Instead though, despite speculation that girlfriend Taylor Swift might be joining him, Travis decided to have a Thanksgiving by himself, "feasting on KFC because I won't have anybody here." But he did already have a "friendsgiving," so he didn't miss out on the holiday altogether.