It’s been nearly two weeks since the Paris Olympics concluded, but Jason Kelce is still captivated by Simone Biles’ gold medal-winning performance. This was evident in the latest edition of the “New Heights Podcast,” where the retired Eagles star reminisced about witnessing the gymnast’s greatness live in Paris.
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In the episode, Jason candidly admitted that he had doubts about Simone Biles’ gold medal prospects due to her age. The former NFL star had bought into the stereotype that gymnasts peak in their early 20s, which led him to underestimate the 27-year-old’s chances of replicating her previous podium finishes.
But to his surprise, Simone needed just three seconds to shatter Jason’s expectations, as he recalled how she soared at least five feet higher than her competitors.
“You watch all these people do floor routine, then Simone performs at the end and, like within the first three seconds, you’re like, ‘Oh that’s different. She just jumped 5 feet higher than everybody else.’”
For both Travis and Jason, watching Simone flourish was a point of pride, especially given the hardships the gymnast has faced in recent years. Similarly, the Eagles legend shared that the highlight of his Paris trip was witnessing all the female athletes winning gold for the USA.
“Watching all those girls stand up there and represent the USA and get a gold medal… that was probably the highlight of the Olympics for me.”
Considering how the NFL preseason always clashed with the Olympics, it took Jason’s retirement to finally fulfill his long-standing dream of attending the Games. Evidently, it was both an enjoyable and proud experience for the former Eagles star.
However, it was also enlightening, as he found himself thinking some sports rules were rather absurd—field hockey being a prime example.
Jason criticizes field hockey for curbing creativity
While attending the field hockey event at the Olympics, Kelce realized that the sport is “kind of stupid” for a simple reason — a player cannot use the back side of the stick. For the retired Eagles star, this rule is stupid, for it increases unnecessary stoppages resulting in the sport becoming more exciting than it already is.
Considering how easy it is for a hockey ball to hit the back of the stick, Jason makes a fair argument that it shouldn’t be penalized if the ball hits the backside. However, Travis didn’t buy this argument. For the KC Chiefs star, the rule made sense because it has always been part of the game and is crucial to its structure.
For Travis, Jason’s complaint is akin to someone championing for soccer players to be allowed to touch the ball with their hands. “Just because you’re not skilled enough with the stick does not mean it’s stupid,” summed up Travis.
While Travis makes sense logically, Jason’s point is valuable from a commercial standpoint. For years, fans of field hockey have suggested various ways to make the game popular and one among them has been the abolishment of the rule pointed out by Jason.
With the Olympics just concluded, now is the best time for sports like field hockey to make a few commercial adjustments to capitalize on the global spotlight.
