Olympic Rower Listened to Jason Kelce's Underdog Speech Before Winning Gold

Justin Best and Jason Kelce Getty Images (2)

Olympic rower Justin Best has Jason Kelce to thank for helping him and the U.S. men’s rowing team win gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Best and his teammates, Nick Mead, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan, took home Team USA’s first gold medal in the men’s four race in 64 years on Thursday, August 1. To get pumped up for the event, Best revealed that he listened to Kelce’s 2018 Super Bowl LVII parade speech.

“We watched it the other day,” Best said in a post-race interview clip shared via X on Thursday. “I had my girlfriend on my shoulder when he was giving that speech, and I’m just like, ‘I’m excited.’ So, you know, all these years later, bringing that mentality. I wish I had a dog mask, ‘cause I’d put that on. Go Birds!”

The X page for Jason, 36, and his brother Travis Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast reacted to the shout-out on Thursday, captioning a pic of Jason at the Super Bowl parade, “Lemme get a HELL YEAH for Team USA.”

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Jason helped the Philadelphia Eagles take home their first Super Bowl win against the New England Patriots in 2018. While giving his speech on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the former center called out critics who didn’t think they could take home that year’s Vince Lombardi trophy.

“We were a bunch of underdogs,” Jason told fans who flooded the streets. “And you know what an underdog is? It’s a hungry dog.”

Noting that “hungry dogs run faster,” Jason noted that the Eagles were victorious because “everybody wanted it more.” He added: “That’s why we’re up here today and that’s why we’re the first team in Eagles history to hold that freaking trophy.”

US’ gold medallists Nick Mead, Justin Best, Michael Grady and Liam Corrigan pose on the podium during the medal ceremony after the men’s four final rowing competition at Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre in Vaires-sur-Marne during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on August 1, 2024. BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images

As mentioned in his interview, Best and his girlfriend, Lainey Duncan, were among the crowd of fans watching Kelce give his speech. “We’re soaring, flyyying” Duncan captioned a pic of her sitting on Best’s shoulders at the museum via Instagram in February 2018.

Though Jason returned to the U.S. before Best and his teammates took home their gold medal, the retired athlete and his wife, Kylie Kelce, traveled to Paris to cheer on other members of Team USA. While attending a women’s field hockey game against Argentina on Saturday, July 27, Jason got into the French spirit by sporting a navy beret he purchased from a souvenir shop.

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He continued to wear the hat while supporting the U.S. women’s rugby team. In addition to beating player Nicole Heavirland in an arm wrestle match, he earned the title of being the team’s No. 1 celebrity fan.

“Women’s water polo has Flava Flav as their super fan. And you are a girl dad,” viral star Ilona Maher told him in a Sunday, July 28, social media video. Asking if he could be their “super fan,” Jason looked into the camera and declared: “I am officially a fan of women’s rugby, Olympics.” (Jason and Kylie, 32, share daughters Wyatt, 4, Ellie, 3, and Bennett, 17 months.)

Maher, 27, exclaimed, “We got Jason Kelce!” as her teammates cheered. The U.S. women’s rugby team won bronze in the women’s tournament last week, marking the first time Tea USA has won an Olympic medal in the sport.