The Ultimate Cincinnati Celebration: Jason and Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ Event Brings Burrow, Chili, and a Mechanical Bul
Cincinnati —Jason and Travis Kelce hosted a live episode of their well-known podcast, “New Heights,” at the University of Cincinnati on Thursday night, paying tribute to their alma institution. Joe Burrow, the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, made a special guest appearance at the sold-out event, which drew over 12,500 attendees to Fifth Third Arena.
“We’ve always wanted to do something for this university, for this city,” Travis said to open the show. “You guys have injected us with so much love for the game of football and so much passion.”
“New Heights,” which staged a live performance in Kansas City last year, was in its first-ever setting. In addition to audience questions, the over ninety-minute event on Thursday featured interviews with Burrow, his Bengals teammate Orlando Brown Jr. (who had previously played with Travis in Kansas City), and former Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder. From 2006 to 2010, Jason was a Bearcat, and from 2008 to 2012, Travis was a Bearcat.
These two are really skilled at creating an entrance picture.@EbycERDyG8 on Twitter
— New Heights (@newheightshow) April 11, 2024
The most talked-about part was when Burrow showed up. When asked about the developing rivalry between the Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, the victors of the Super Bowl, Burrow responded, “They have great guys, we have fantastic players.” We seem to be a good fit for each other. We are somewhat designed to defeat them.
The Bengals have defeated the Chiefs three times in the last five meetings, including Cincinnati’s win in the AFC Championship in January 2022. The following season, Kansas City defeated the Bengals to win the AFC title. Playing the Bengals is “usually one of my favorite games to look forward to,” according to Travis.
“I love playing against the best,” Travis told Burrow. “I have all the respect in the world for you.”
After playing for the Philadelphia Eagles for 13 seasons, Jason officially retired last month. He talked about how his connection with Burrow began with a text message in 2018. After spending three seasons on the sideline at Ohio State, Burrow had registered as a collegiate athlete through the transfer portal, while Jason and the Eagles were fresh off a victory in Super Bowl LII. Then, Jason was contacted by Luke Fickell, the head coach of the Bearcats, asking for a little assistance in getting Burrow to Cincinnati.
“Who knows what could have been? He could have been such a great player if he just would have come here,” Jason quipped before the show. “But unfortunately he went to LSU. … Ever since then Joe and I have been connected.”
Burrow later won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship while attending LSU, but he claimed Jason’s text “really meant a lot to me, because at that time I was really going through it.”
“I was putting in the work but wasn’t seeing the fruits of my labor,” said Burrow. “(The Eagles) had just won the Super Bowl. … When you reached out to me I was really geeked up about that.”
It was not entirely somber. Burrow shared his thoughts on aliens with the audience after an injury ended his 2023 NFL season. “I feel like if they are advanced enough to come and see us, then they are advanced enough to shroud their technology from us,” he said.
All of it was a part of a spectacular Cincinnati football exhibition that swiftly came together in the weeks following Jason’s retirement. When Cincinnati sports director John Cunningham was recently questioned about the event’s preparations, he said that he had been worrying about it so much that he had a dream in which he contacted Travis to talk about it and Taylor Swift picked up.
Even though Swift was not present on Thursday, Cunningham had envisioned this kind of celebration, which brought together two of the most well-known alumni of the program with Cincy Reigns, the NIL collective connected to the institution that will receive a percentage of the proceeds from the event. The collective hopes to raise six figures to fund name, image, and likeness, though exact numbers were not made public.
“It was a no-brainer for us to do something for Cincy Reigns and the student-athletes and the athletic department,” Jason told reporters before the show. “This place did so much for my brother and I’s careers.”
The first-ever Great Lombaby Games, a competition akin to “Slime Time Live” and hosted by the Kelce brothers, kicked off the evening. Jason came up with the idea of playing a team of Bearcats players versus a team of Cincinnati students in a series of games like “diving” for Jason’s Super Bowl ring in kiddie pools full of Skyline Chili and answering trivia questions while riding a mechanical bull. Many former Bearcats players were present, along with Kylie, Jason’s wife, and Ed and Donna Kelces, the Kelces’ parents.
The program, which is about to begin its second season in the Big 12 under head coach Scott Satterfield, acted as a type of spring football opener for Cincinnati’s game this Saturday. Jason was already scheduled to attend the university’s 125th anniversary celebration of Sigma Sigma, a men’s honorary fraternity that was founded in 1898 and of which he is a member, so it was a perfect timing. Cunningham had previously inquired about how to bring the Kelce brothers back to campus for a major event; therefore, when Travis’ schedule allowed for a Thursday performance, the institution collaborated with Wave Sports and Entertainment, the podcast’s producer.
The brothers played at Nippert Stadium, and they were determined to host. That was the original schedule, but on Wednesday it was revealed that an indoor shift to the nearby arena was necessary due to the possibility of bad weather. Before tickets were even on sale, the event’s website crashed due to high demand from Swifties, Bearcats supporters, and Kelce fans last month. Some fans were offended by the $100 general entrance fee, but not to the point where it reduced attendance. Student tickets were given away free of charge through a lottery, and the announcement of Burrow as a special guest last week increased overall sales.
On social media, Jason can be seen shooting darts and hanging out with former teammates and coaches. On Wednesday night, he spent his time at Uncle Woody’s, an uptown bar and one of the Kelce brothers’ old hangouts. Travis showed up on Thursday, and the two brothers met with the Cincinnati football team of today for a portion of the day.
An unexpected commencement we will not soon forget. Travis and Jason deserve congratulations for (finally) receiving their diplomas! @newheightshow #Bearcats pic.twitter.com/JyVUuH6UhV
— Cincinnati Bearcats (@GoBEARCATS) April 12, 2024
The play went ahead without a hitch, even with the last-minute decision to move indoors, and concluded with an unexpected commencement ceremony. Both brothers were unable to walk at their first graduation, and a few years ago, Travis famously missed his trip for a delayed commencement. Jason and Travis were presented with caps, gowns, and certificates by Cunningham and Neville Pinto, the president of the university, as their parents joined them on stage.
Clinking a tallboy beer, Travis got his diploma as the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right” boomed over the speakers and confetti dropped.
“Thank you so much for making this a night to remember,” Jason shouted to the crowd.
“Cincinnati, we love you guys,” Travis added. “And don’t forget to get your degree on the way out.”
(Top photo courtesy of Abdoul Sow / Cincinnati Athletics)