The countdown to kickoff is underway before the Kansas City Chiefs celebrate their latest Super Bowl title and begin their three-peat journey against the Baltimore Ravens.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has plenty going on in his life besides football, but he still gets excited about the new season regardless of his years of experience. He spoke with reporters after practice on Tuesday about his mindset heading into another season compared to his earlier years.
“Completely different. You’re just more comfortable, more aware of kind of the system, the routines, so you feel like you’ve got that much more of a heads up,” said Kelce. “You’re kind of like more advanced in terms of understanding scheme and things like that and just how you’re supposed to attack your opponent.”
Kelce remains excited for the moment he’s handed the first playbook and gameplan of the new season. He’s been through so many years with head coach Andy Reid and keeps the same energy heading into Thursday’s AFC Championship game rematch from a year ago.
“It’s exciting, it’s exciting. It’s the first game of the season. Everybody wants to come out and show how explosive they are (and) show how much better they got from last year. It’s just a great opportunity to be going up against such a great team. (Baltimore Ravens Head) Coach (John) Harbaugh – everybody over there in Baltimore is just top tier.” Said Kelce. “They’ve got some of the best players in the league on both sides of the ball, and it’s just going to be a great challenge for us. I think everybody’s just fired up to get out in front of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium and get this season started.”
The 34-year-old says he’s feeling good about starting the season after being hobbled to start last year due to an injury in practice.