Longtime ESPN host Kevin Neghandi rooted for Jason Kelce from afar while Kelce led the Philadelphia Eagles to two Super Bowls, and is thrilled to see Kelce get a chance to show America his personality and football knowledge now at ESPN.
In an interview on the 06010 ESPN Communications podcast released Wednesday, Neghandi explained what made Kelce special as an Eagle and why being true to himself should be Kelce’s only focus on set at ESPN, where he will start work in the fall.
“Just be yourself. Because that’s the reason why the city fell in love with Jason,” Neghandi explained. “He understands people, he makes that immediate connection to people. He’s organically himself in every way. Whether it’s his podcast, whether it’s while he’s mic’d up playing, when he was on the set doing interviews after a game, I think he’s going to just be an absolute superstar.”
ESPN studio host & @SportsCenter anchor @KevinNegandhi joined the latest edition of ‘06010’ the ESPN Communications podcast@AlexFeuz spoke with Negandhi about hosting the 2024 #NBADraft on ABC, advice for @JasonKelce & more
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— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 26, 2024
Neghandi said that while Kelce is originally from Ohio, Philly embraced him because he had the passion and mentality that the diehard sports town loves.
“Whenever Jason was on TV doing something, I’d always feel a sense of pride,” Neghandi said. “He’s representing who we are, by not being somebody else, by being Jason Kelce. Him and his wife Kylie, they are basically royalty in the Philadelphia region because they are who they are.”
Kelce will join the NFL Countdown panel during Monday Night Football as well as halftime alongside host Scott Van Pelt and Ryan Clark. According to ESPN’s announcement last month, Kelce is also expected to contribute to the network’s NFL studio coverage during the postseason and Super Bowl.
While Kelce recently said he was nervous for his broadcast debut, Neghandi trusts Kelce’s football bona fides will shine through. The SportsCenter host simply wants Kelce to let his personality shine through equally in order to succeed at the worldwide leader.
“My simple advice is continue to do what you’re doing, be yourself, and the entire country will fall in love with you as Philadelphia has,” Neghandi said.
[06010 ESPN Communications Podcast]
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.