Nobody had more fun at the Philadelphia Eagles home opener than Jason Kelce, who was on hand for his new gig with ESPN's Monday Night Countdown. But unfortunately, one notorious Philly superfan inadvertently injured himself while joining in on the merriment.
Prior to the game between the Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons, Kelce was seen dancing onstage to hype up the crowd in video that has since gone viral. In the clip, the 36-year-old former NFL center could be seen nailing a bunch of dance moves to pumping EDM music, including the running man and high-knee galloping, all the while exuberantly pumping his fist.
"Jason Kelce is BACK in Philly," ESPN captioned the post on social media.
Jason Kelce is BACK in Philly ???????????? pic.twitter.com/TlsaCV81Wf
— ESPN (@espn) September 16, 2024
In another clip, Kelce called Ron Dunphy, otherwise known as the heavily-tattooed Philly sportfan who has the Philly Phantic permanently inked around his belly button, up to the stage for a celebratory chest bump. However, after bouncing off the six-foot-three Kelce, Dunphy could be seen wincing and pain and limping off to the side. For his part, Kelce seemed fully unaware of the fan's injury.
"The Phanatic belly tattoo guy 100 percent tore his ACL chest bumping Kelce on the ESPN broadcast by the way," wrote local fan Mike Bradley.
https://t.co/u8Wly6HkSj pic.twitter.com/hnbDASYN2Y
— Mike Bradley (@RealMikeBradley) September 16, 2024
Shortly after the live moment went down, Dunphy responded to another fan on social media who asked him if he twisted his ankle on a chest bump. "F--k my whole knee up," the father of two responded, adding, "So worth it lmao."
Fuck my whole knee up ????????????
— Dunphy215 (@dunphy215) September 16, 2024
So worth it lmao https://t.co/xsRYtvwoht
Tush Push is legit ????????@JasonKelce @newheightshow pic.twitter.com/nBK1I6DhDZ
— Dunphy215 (@dunphy215) September 16, 2024
In a follow-up post, Dunphy admitted that he was icing his leg. "Say what you want. Yeah I got hurt doing a chest bump. But I got higher than Kelce," he later added.
— Dunphy215 (@dunphy215) September 17, 2024
Say what you want. Yea I got hurt doing a chest bump. But I got higher than Kelce ???????? #athlete
— Dunphy215 (@dunphy215) September 17, 2024
Dunphy has become something of a celebrity among Philly sports fans for his prolific tattoos, which he typically shows off by going shirtless at games. In addition to his Phanatic tattoo, Dunphy's chest piece also features the Eagles logo, the 76ers logo, the Flyers' mascot Gritty, an interstate 95 highway sign, and the Philadelphia skyline, among other Philly-centric Easter eggs.
But sadly, despite the hype ahead of the game, the Eagles ended up losing their first home match of the season to the Falcons by a heartbreaking 22–21 margin. With any luck, Dunphy's knee will be on the mend before the next home game.
