Travis Kelce ‘Doesn’t Even Realize’ Enormous Impact on Cleveland Heights

When former Cleveland Heights football coach Mike Jones first met Travis Kelce he couldn’t have known he was looking at one of the greatest tight ends of all time—a future NFL player capable of multiple Super Bowl rings and a serious relationship with the biggest pop star on Earth.

But as Jones looked at the sixth-grader, who already towered over his classmates at about six feet tall, he knew immediately that he was looking at something.

“Travis has always had the potential for this,” Jones told Newsweek in a phone interview this week.

What Jones means by “this,” he clarified, is superstardom. Not just as a sports star, but as an international sensation.

“It’s very surreal,” Jones said. “You just sit back and just take it all in, but to me, for Travis, the sky was the limit.”

Nearly 20 years after Jones sized up the promising youngster, Cleveland Heights High School is dotted with reminders of its most famous alum, who—as Jones put it—was once just a “big, put-together, coordinated and athletic” kid. A framed Kelce Chiefs jersey hangs in the hallway. Photos and posters of Kelce and his brother Jason decorate the walls of classrooms.

Other reminders exist too. The current head coach of the Heights football team, former NFL linebacker Mac Stephens, declined to offer many details about Kelce’s financial contributions to the school, noting that Kelce has worked “behind the scenes for the program over the years without ever wanting credit for it, just doing it because it’s the right thing to do.” Still, Stephens conceded that thanks to Kelce, the football team is “one of the better-looking teams in the area because of our uniforms.”

“We follow Travis and his flair for apparel and all that stuff,” Cleveland Heights Athletic Director Joe D’Amato told Newsweek. “We definitely feel like we look good out there.”

Early in his NFL career, Kelce was a semi-regular presence around his alma mater. From time to time, he would contact D’Amato (“at an ungodly hour,” Jones pointed out) to see if he could get in a lift or a workout on the football field, or asking if he and his friends from back home could get into the gym to play pick-up basketball.

Five years ago, Kelce returned for a Heights homecoming game, and he was mobbed by people at the concession stand. Kelce held court with the mass of humanity before D’Amato moved him inside the fencing and onto the track. Cleveland Heights players found themselves joined on the sideline by an All-Pro tight end. Afterward, Kelce joined the team in the locker room and gave a post-game speech.

“Travis is as cool as they come,” Stephens said. “He’s just down to earth. Obviously, you can’t not know that he’s this major NFL star, but he doesn’t come across as cocky or arrogant. He just tries to be one of the guys. Obviously, it’s tough for him now that he’s probably one of the most recognizable athletes in the entire country at this point, but he’s just a down-home guy that’s proud of where he comes from.”

‘A Story of Perseverance’
Kelce’s pride in his hometown is obvious—he frequently shouts it out on his podcast, which contains a reference to Cleveland Heights in its name: “New Heights.”

“The people from Heights are forever connected to Heights,” D’Amato said. “So it doesn’t shock me that the name was included in their podcast. It doesn’t shock me how frequent they talk about growing up here and their friends from here.”

Heights residents take pride in and draw inspiration from the Kelces for several reasons. Most notably, of course, the brothers walked the same halls and played on the same field as the current players, many of whom are committed (or have offers) to play football at the next level.

But Heights students can also look at the Kelces and see examples of hard work and passion that paid off. Travis was a naturally gifted athlete who loved both football and basketball, and while his athleticism and size made him the only logical choice on the roster to be the team’s quarterback, his real passion was receiving (“if Travis could really throw the ball to himself, he would have,” Jones said).

Still, Kelce was just a two-star athlete coming out of high school. Jason, meanwhile, had to walk onto the University of Cincinnati team.

“[Travis] shows a story of perseverance,” senior Heights defensive back Ethan Golden told Newsweek. “As long as you keep working toward your goal, it’s still possible. It doesn’t have to happen right away. Through everything in life, there’s going to be adversity, and he’s shown that when you overcome it, good things end up coming out.”

Golden signed his letter of intent to play at Thomas More University on Wednesday—one of a number of college-bound athletes who play for the Heights program.

Stephens said current students at Heights continue to look up to Kelce and are “very proud” to see him on TV every week.

“When everybody else says they are from whatever college, he always says, ‘The Heights,'” Stephens said. “Our kids notice that.”

‘A Rocket Ship That Started Taking Off’
The first half of Kelce’s story can be told in a handful of locales around the country every year—a local athlete makes it to the professional level, and residents of his hometown are proud of him. That pride swells when he excels, and it reaches a fever pitch when he wins a championship.

The Kelce story, however, is a little different—a “kind of rocket ship that started taking off, and then last two years have just been pure insanity,” as D’Amato put it.

For Heights residents, last year’s crescendo in popularity felt like it hit its zenith when Travis and Jason played each other in the Super Bowl. Media attention descended upon the school and residents of the neighborhood. The community honored the duo. D’Amato attended the Super Bowl.

“The two weeks between the championship game and the Super Bowl last year were just a frenzy,” D’Amato said.

But the rocket ship never re-entered the atmosphere. Travis (now infamously) tried to get in touch with Taylor Swift at one of her concerts, and after the two connected secretly, she attended one of his games at the Arrowhead Stadium in September. That set off a firestorm of media attention, and their relationship became one of the hottest news stories in years.

Suddenly, the Heights’ most famous alum was one of the most famous athletes anywhere.

“That is crazy to think about: How [Swift] is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and she is dating someone from Cleveland Heights,” Golden said. “That is surreal to think about it.”

Kelce’s celebrity now transcends sports entirely. D’Amato said he realized how famous Kelce became when opposing volleyball teams and their parents started taking photos next to the Kansas City jersey hanging up at the school. Students began asking if Kelce and Swift would attend Cleveland Heights football games, or if Swift might perform a concert at the school (they haven’t and she hasn’t, for obvious security reasons).

Before the Chiefs and the Ravens played each other in the AFC Championship, several of Kelce’s friends came to D’Amato’s office asking if they could get Heights sweat suits for the upcoming game, and they asked if they could get one for Swift as well. D’Amato isn’t certain if she ever wore the sweat suit, but he was slightly relieved that photos never emerged of her in one.

“There was a level of concern that if she did wear it, we would be inundated with people trying to buy our apparel,” D’Amato said. “I don’t think we have the bandwidth to pump out that much swag, if you will.”

For Jones, who has known Kelce the longest, the rise has simultaneously been a blessing and a culmination of sorts.

“Each year it’s been a little different, a little something different, a little opportunity here, and you could see other athletes like Michael Strahan—doors open,” Jones said. “You have to be ready to walk through, and that’s the thing. I think Travis was ready. At each juncture, he’s ready to walk in that door.”

‘A Major, Major Impact’
Predictably, everyone from Cleveland Heights interviewed by Newsweek picked the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“I watched the Opening Night the other day, I just really feel that they are so focused,” Jones said.

On Wednesday afternoon, 11 Heights players gathered together and made a video wishing Kelce luck as he and the Chiefs prepare to take on the 49ers in the Super Bowl. The teenagers held a sign that read: “Tear it up TRAVIS! CLE Heights Tigers Love You” and said “Good luck Travis!” together.

“Really [wanted] just to tell him thank you for everything he’s done for the community,” Golden said. “Because of him, there are way more eyes on us, and there’s way more opportunities for us here in Cleveland Heights.”

Kelce responded to the video on X, formerly Twitter.

This is why I love the Heights!! Appreciate the love and support y’all! #HEIGHTSForever https://t.co/oPe9Do31oe

— Travis Kelce (@tkelce) February 8, 2024
“He’s had a major, major impact,” Stephens said. “I don’t even think he realizes the impact he’s had on the culture, and especially within the Cleveland Heights high school football program that we have right now.”