Travis Kelce Shares the Stories Behind 2 Childhood Nicknames
Travis Kelce explained the stories behind two of his childhood nicknames during a recent episode of New Heights, the podcast he co-hosts with his brother Jason, revealing he often wears a nod to one of them.
Fresh off the Kansas City Chiefs’ fifth consecutive win of the 2024 season, the NFL star was recording the podcast in person with his older brother when a fan-submitted question started the nickname conversation. During the “No Dumb Questions” segment of the episode that dropped on Wednesday, Oct. 9, a fan asked the Chiefs tight end to share the story behind the T-Rex logo on his Nike football gloves.
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Travis, 35, explained that the gloves were custom-made and had, at his request, included the logo within its design as a nod to one of the nicknames he’d received from his peers in childhood.
“You say it best when you say you don’t choose your own nicknames,” Travis told Jason, 36, before diving into the story. The Grotesquerie star then revealed that the teammates he’d played basketball with around age 10 had dubbed him “T-Rex.”
“I think ’T’ for ‘Travis,’ and T-Rex was kind of, like, a mind frame. Like a mindset,” Travis said. “Or it was because I was just, like, fat with short arms.”
Travis then mentioned another nickname that was inspired by his time playing basketball as a kid. “It was that and Traveling Trav,” he said, joking that the second nickname was “Because I was traveling all over the world.” He then clarified that “Traveling Trav” was a nod to the fact that he “did not like to dribble.”
While the brothers went on to speculate about whether Travis could have become an NBA player, both eventually established successful careers in the NFL. Jason, a former center for the Philadelphia Eagles, retired earlier this year after 13 seasons with the team.
Travis has similarly spent his entire professional career with the Chiefs, picking up three Super Bowl rings since he was drafted in 2013. Travis and his teammates aspire to become the first NFL team to win three consecutive Super Bowls at the conclusion of the 2024 season.
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