Speaker 1: Donna Kelcey is also known as Mama Kelcey, and she
Speaker 1: has kind of become America's mom ever since her two
Speaker 1: sons came into the national spotlight as the first ever
Speaker 1: brothers to compete against each other in the NFL Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Like many mothers, she spent many years shuttling her two
Speaker 1: sons to their practices and to their games and cheering
Speaker 1: them on from the sidelines. I recently spent some time
Speaker 1: with Donna in Las Vegas as QBC ambassadors for their
Speaker 1: q fifty Age of Possibility. It's a special campaign and
Speaker 1: we all had a real good time, and I thought, well,
Speaker 1: what better mother to celebrate Mother's Day with than Donna Kelcey,
Speaker 1: and I invited her to join me today to talk
Speaker 1: about raising her son's her life is an NFL mom,
Speaker 1: and some parenting advice along the way. Welcome to my podcast, Donna.
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you very much, Martha. This is great, glad
Speaker 2: to do it.
Speaker 1: Well. You're familiar with podcasts. Your family has been involved
Speaker 1: in several over the last few years, and I just
Speaker 1: want to talk about the individual sense. I don't know
Speaker 1: really much about Jason Kelsey. He's your older son. Yes,
Speaker 1: can you tell me a little bit about him, and
Speaker 1: three qualities that you would consider very pertinent to Jason.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think he's very tenacious, he has a good
Speaker 2: work ethic, and he's quite funny. At times it just
Speaker 2: hit the moment has to strike him. But then he
Speaker 2: is just as crazy as Travis is at times.
Speaker 1: And three qualities that describe the younger son Travis.
Speaker 2: He's a fashionista. He very important for image and what
Speaker 2: he looks like, but not so much to be perfect.
Speaker 2: It's more to get to put a spile on people's
Speaker 2: faces at times. I mean, he'll dress the way he
Speaker 2: needs to, but most of the time he's doing it
Speaker 2: to make people laugh or to talk. And he loves
Speaker 2: being in the center of attention, which we all know that.
Speaker 1: So he's a show off. He's a show off, yes
Speaker 1: he is.
Speaker 2: And he's very very generous good heart. Yes.
Speaker 1: Well, what were those boys like growing up? Are those
Speaker 1: qualities that were evident when they were say, ten and eleven?
Speaker 2: I think so. When I go back and look at
Speaker 2: pictures when they were little or movies from video, I
Speaker 2: see Travis always dancing and shaking his behind and Jason
Speaker 2: always with a batter of ball in his hand. They
Speaker 2: both love sports very much and very much. You could
Speaker 2: tell their personalities how much they cared and focused on things,
Speaker 2: and they just truly believed in their soul that they
Speaker 2: were going to be somebody someday.
Speaker 1: That was evidenced early on.
Speaker 2: They just thought for sure. They played in their minds
Speaker 2: over and over again how they were going to be
Speaker 2: in the super Bowl together. It's just so weird that
Speaker 2: it came true. We didn't think it ever would.
Speaker 1: So isn't that something? What's the age difference?
Speaker 2: Two years? You know, that's about it? One year and
Speaker 2: eleven months. So they were pretty wow, pretty close.
Speaker 1: Are these your only children?
Speaker 2: Yes, and there's no other cousins. My brother and Ed's
Speaker 2: sister did not have any children, so they were pretty much,
Speaker 2: you know, their friend playmate most of their life.
Speaker 1: And they were your focus. Were you as focused on
Speaker 1: them as athletes as say Caitlin Clark's father was on
Speaker 1: her prowess on the floor of the basketball court.
Speaker 2: Now, I wasn't involved in that because I didn't know
Speaker 2: how to teach. I didn't have that, you know, capability.
Speaker 2: We made sure that they had great coaches, and especially
Speaker 2: when they're young, we didn't want them to focus on
Speaker 2: one particular sport. We wanted them to enjoy them all,
Speaker 2: find out which one you like. I think Jason spent
Speaker 2: a little time doing theaters. So I just told them
Speaker 2: to do a lot of things and try to figure
Speaker 2: out what you really like and then when you find
Speaker 2: that out, that'll be good. But no, we just wanted
Speaker 2: them to have a good time. We wanted them to
Speaker 2: love whatever they were doing, and that be a chuer work.
Speaker 1: So when did they start focusing on the football, Because
Speaker 1: that is a tough sport. It's probably in America it's
Speaker 1: the most I don't mean to say dangerous, but the
Speaker 1: most brutal of all the sports, except maybe for boxing.
Speaker 1: But when did they start focusing on football?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was hockey first, And I remember Jason coming
Speaker 2: off of the court one time when they could finally check,
Speaker 2: which is you can finally hit somebody and get him
Speaker 2: on the ground, and he says, Mom, I find out
Speaker 2: what I'm really good at. So he just he loved
Speaker 2: that part of it, which is what he ended up doing,
Speaker 2: and I think Travis just kind of followed him. But
Speaker 2: it was seventh grade. I decided not to put them
Speaker 2: in peewee football or start them out young because it
Speaker 2: is so violent, and just let them play other sports
Speaker 2: and figure out defenses and offenses and things like that.
Speaker 1: So describe to me what was Jason's position in football
Speaker 1: his career.
Speaker 2: Well, he was usually in high school. When you have
Speaker 2: kids that are athletic, they put you where they need you.
Speaker 2: So they played a lot of different positions. Jason was
Speaker 2: a linebacker. He played on the line, he was a kicker,
Speaker 2: long snapper. He did just about everything. The same thing
Speaker 2: with Travis, but Travis mostly focused on a quarterback. That's
Speaker 2: what he did in high school. And you know they
Speaker 2: both started in the seventh grade. Well that's where they
Speaker 2: got it. But they played all kinds of sports.
Speaker 1: I have a grandson who is going into seventh grade
Speaker 1: and he is a soccer player, and he loves soccer
Speaker 1: so much. But you know, the other day I was
Speaker 1: talking to him about his practice and he's he plays
Speaker 1: every single day. It isn't like it's just one day
Speaker 1: a week. He plays seven days a week. And he said,
Speaker 1: you know, I don't I really thought I would be
Speaker 1: a really great soccer player, but I don't know now.
Speaker 1: And he's just going to be. He's twelve years old. Well,
Speaker 1: he's not sure now that he will be good enough.
Speaker 1: So it's not like he's saying. And a couple of
Speaker 1: years ago he was going off to Europe. He was
Speaker 1: going to play for Liverpool. He was absolutely certain of it,
Speaker 1: and now he's questioning his ability. And it's kind of
Speaker 1: sad to me that a young boy, because he still
Speaker 1: hasn't had his growth spurt.
Speaker 2: They all second guests themselves. They figure that this isn't
Speaker 2: for me. I'm not big enough, I'm not strong enough,
Speaker 2: I'm not heavy enough, i don't lift enough weights. But
Speaker 2: if you want it bad enough, it's mental. Jason is
Speaker 2: a small center. Travis wanted to be a quarterback and
Speaker 2: he ended up going to college, but they told him,
Speaker 2: you're going to be a tight end, so you have
Speaker 2: to be flexible at the position you're playing. And if
Speaker 2: he can do that, he may find out that I'll
Speaker 2: be a soccer player. But maybe it's in a different
Speaker 2: position than what he's doing right right, So it is mental.
Speaker 2: It's like how bad do you want it?
Speaker 1: And just keep encouraging them to do what they can do.
Speaker 2: Sometimes they get to a point where they're like burnt out.
Speaker 2: It's like I really don't want to do this anymore.
Speaker 2: They played soccer for a while, they played baseball and basketball,
Speaker 2: and they were on all those teams. But you end
Speaker 2: up just having to focus on one towards your late years.
Speaker 1: Now, how are they a students? Were good students the boys.
Speaker 2: I'll be honest. Jason was good in high school. Travis
Speaker 2: really had no interest in school whatsoever. We were We
Speaker 2: were constantly having to tell him that you need to
Speaker 2: finish your homework, this and that. But they're both smart.
Speaker 2: They're very intelligent. It's just choice.
Speaker 1: How did you nurture their skills? What did you feed
Speaker 1: these boys? Did they eat a lot?
Speaker 2: We would sit down sometimes have you know? They could
Speaker 2: after football eating an entire chicken. I swear each you know,
Speaker 2: it's just a you lose so many calories when you're
Speaker 2: playing a sport like that. That's that active, whether it's
Speaker 2: soccer or anything. And I'm sure you've found out that
Speaker 2: they go to the refrigerator right after you ate, so
Speaker 2: it's a non stop eating. So you had to have
Speaker 2: a lot of food around, right, Yeah, And if ever
Speaker 2: I went to a nice restaurant and I brought home leftovers,
Speaker 2: they weren't there when I got home.
Speaker 1: No, it's incredible. How many loads of bread did they
Speaker 1: eat a week? Would you? Would you say?
Speaker 2: There were times when I would come home and I
Speaker 2: just got a loaf of bread and they go through
Speaker 2: the whole thing with peanut butter and jelly or just
Speaker 2: eating it. We never keep a cereal box. I mean
Speaker 2: they would go through a cereal box, you know, every
Speaker 2: one or two days.
Speaker 1: That was their Oh and.
Speaker 2: Then I found out that they were going to other
Speaker 2: people's houses after school and eating over their houses. Oh,
Speaker 2: I bet.
Speaker 1: I mean. I remember sitting down with my brothers, and
Speaker 1: my brothers were not big athletes like that, but they
Speaker 1: were always hungry, and they would eat a whole My
Speaker 1: mother would put down a box of corn flakes, and
Speaker 1: one boy would just pour the whole box into a
Speaker 1: great big mixing bowl with a half a gallon of milk.
Speaker 1: And that was breakfast.
Speaker 2: When they went off to college, I got a raise.
Speaker 2: College was feeding them then.
Speaker 1: So what were their favorite meals? I'm always curious what
Speaker 1: did Travis like, especially to eat?
Speaker 2: Well, he was a sugar COLLI tried not to give
Speaker 2: a sugar at that time, but he would sneak it.
Speaker 2: I would give him lunches send him with good food
Speaker 2: during the day and he would trade it for somebody
Speaker 2: else for money, and he would get a what do
Speaker 2: you call a honey bun out of the vending machine.
Speaker 2: I'm like, how are you this good? Would you? But
Speaker 2: we would make sure they had good meals at the
Speaker 2: end of the day and good bruns. So that's one
Speaker 2: thing we had control of. But you know, they loved chicken,
Speaker 2: they loved ribs, they loved you know, hamburgers and pizza
Speaker 2: like everybody else does. I'm not a great cook. I'm not.
Speaker 2: I you know, have my my items that I'm good at,
Speaker 2: but mostly I'm a baker blueberry muffins and things like
Speaker 2: that as opposed to what we had for dinner.
Speaker 1: Oh, by the way, I was going to also ask
Speaker 1: you they always ate meat, right, They're not vegetarian?
Speaker 2: No, yeah, they do.
Speaker 1: You know, do you know any professional athletes that are vegetarian?
Speaker 2: There's a few. Tom Brady was a vegetarian, if I'm
Speaker 2: not mistaken, or at least a fish yeah.
Speaker 1: Pescatary, yeah, pescutaryan yeah. Me and my grandson's a pescatarian.
Speaker 1: And I sometimes think, gosh, I wonder if he really
Speaker 1: needs to eat some meat.
Speaker 2: He just needs protein.
Speaker 1: Yeah, protein protein, So.
Speaker 2: Where he can get that other ways? I think there
Speaker 2: are several that that I think Jason's played with that
Speaker 2: are vegetarians.
Speaker 1: So what kind of house did you have with these
Speaker 1: two growing monster boys?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: It was.
Speaker 2: It was a broken house. There were broken windows. We
Speaker 2: had to pick glass block in the basement. Our door
Speaker 2: on our garage was like pock marked. It had hockey
Speaker 2: pucks hit at it on a continual pieces. And I
Speaker 2: just decided, you know what, this is their house too.
Speaker 2: I'm not going to scream at them every single day,
Speaker 2: you know, try to get them to the to the
Speaker 2: parks and everything like that so that they don't beat
Speaker 2: it up too much.
Speaker 1: But did you have a basketball hoop in your dry Yes?
Speaker 2: We did, Yes, we did. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Did you have a soccer net on your grass?
Speaker 2: We had? Yeah, we did at one point when they
Speaker 2: were playing. We also had hockey nets there too, and
Speaker 2: a little hockey mini stick arena in our basement for
Speaker 2: them to play.
Speaker 1: Oh wow.
Speaker 2: Yes, they would do it on their knees, you know.
Speaker 2: It was funny. And the noise too, there was a
Speaker 2: lot of noise. The houses were very close together. We
Speaker 2: lived in Cleveland Heights, which was one hundred year old street,
Speaker 2: and you know, with the homes being that old, and
Speaker 2: so they would kick a football and I'd be terrified
Speaker 2: it was going to go through somebody's window, and I'm
Speaker 2: sure it didn't. I never find out about it.
Speaker 1: Now, you were an athlete, I understand, But you weren't
Speaker 1: encouraged by your dad to follow sports? How come? I?
Speaker 2: You know, he was old school and felt that I'd
Speaker 2: either be you know, a mother, a nurse, a teacher.
Speaker 2: He just had these preconceived notions. And thank goodness, I
Speaker 2: had a stepmother growing up, and she was very good.
Speaker 2: She was an athlete herself, and she kind of helped me,
Speaker 2: you know, navigate that and let me do things that
Speaker 2: my dad might not have necessarily wanted.
Speaker 1: What did you play? What did you play?
Speaker 2: I love track. I was really good at track and
Speaker 2: high jump. I was in the Junior Olympics. And but
Speaker 2: you know, you get to a certain point in high
Speaker 2: school and a lot of girls quit, like around thirteen fourteen,
Speaker 2: and I'm hoping that that will change, and it has
Speaker 2: really it has changed over time. But I was doing
Speaker 2: I was before Night Title Night, so there was no
Speaker 2: point for me to do it. I couldn't go any further.
Speaker 2: So I did as much as I could. But it
Speaker 2: was intramural. It wasn't inner school.
Speaker 1: Right. I'm older than Donna Kelsey by about twelve years
Speaker 1: or something, I think. And I played softball and I
Speaker 1: played basketball. Yeah, you know, it was two dribbles and shoot.
Speaker 1: Remember basketball was half court. I know, half court. It
Speaker 1: was so horrible.
Speaker 2: I know it was awful. It wasn't really. It wasn't
Speaker 2: a lot of competition, and the only thing you could
Speaker 2: play was field hockey. I tried it for a while,
Speaker 2: but I was so tall that the people had their
Speaker 2: the hockey sticks and they would keep hitting me in
Speaker 2: the shin, so I said, I am done. But that
Speaker 2: was the only one you were allowed to play in
Speaker 2: between schools. That was the only sport.
Speaker 1: But then Donna gave up all these sports and became
Speaker 1: a banker. You were financing low income housing in Cincinnati, right,
Speaker 1: So that's that's a big job. And how did you
Speaker 1: balance that with the boys.
Speaker 2: Yeah it was tough, but I tried to stay in
Speaker 2: at least the state of Ohio so that I wasn't
Speaker 2: traveling far when they were young, but you know it
Speaker 2: was there's affordable housing for individuals that are low income,
Speaker 2: but not even low income. It's more for like starting
Speaker 2: teachers and ems and firemen and police and whatever's. It's
Speaker 2: just safe, affordable housing in large cities that are very
Speaker 2: expensive with apartments. So so banks have to do that,
Speaker 2: they don't have to. They want to be responsible in
Speaker 2: the community and they want to make sure that they
Speaker 2: support their communities, and that's one way to do it.
Speaker 1: Are you still working?
Speaker 2: No? I stopped two years ago. My bank merged and
Speaker 2: I had just been through like three or four of
Speaker 2: them overtime, and I said, I'm done. I'm not doing
Speaker 2: another one.
Speaker 1: Well, you also became like the most famous football mom
Speaker 1: in history with that Super Bowl that was that two
Speaker 1: years ago or three years ago? It was two years
Speaker 1: When was two years ago? When both boys played on
Speaker 1: opposing teams and that I was at that game. That
Speaker 1: was some fabulous game and you must have been were
Speaker 1: you rooting for anybody?
Speaker 2: It was? I was clamping no matter who had the
Speaker 2: ball because I knew that they're both on offense, so he.
Speaker 1: Was and one of them was going to win, right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, that was a good thing. I was winning
Speaker 2: no matter what, So that was rwesome. But you do
Speaker 2: you feel bad for the for the losers, and you
Speaker 2: are elated for the for the winners. But it was tough,
Speaker 2: you know, seeing my oldest after that, because I knew
Speaker 2: how much it meant to him. I knew he wasn't
Speaker 2: going to be playing too much longer, and it's tough.
Speaker 1: He just retired, Yes, was it two weeks ago? Formally?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 1: And he's how old?
Speaker 2: Thirty four?
Speaker 1: No? Six, thirty six, he's thirty six, he's thirty six, right?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Remember their birthdays?
Speaker 2: Oh? Yeah, yeah, I do. No October fifth, Yes, I do.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's easy, that's.
Speaker 2: Easy for sure.
Speaker 1: But in addition to being a banker, you were a mom,
Speaker 1: You ran the household. You got divorced at what age
Speaker 1: I was.
Speaker 2: It was after the kids were out of college, so.
Speaker 1: You had you had the support of a husband during
Speaker 1: the boys too, during their whole developmental high school years.
Speaker 1: Ed and I, oh, that's good.
Speaker 2: We worked together as a team, and it was it's very,
Speaker 2: very difficult to raise cholka on your own, and with
Speaker 2: as active as they were, how do you do that
Speaker 2: on your own? So we decided that we would be
Speaker 2: married throughout the entire time that the kids were in
Speaker 2: the house, and that's the way it worked out.
Speaker 1: Well, that's so smart and so lucky that you did that.
Speaker 1: I lucky for them too, because it's such so hard
Speaker 1: to to do that on your own. My daughter, she's
Speaker 1: a single mom and with an eleven and a twelve
Speaker 1: year old who go in different directions, you know, after
Speaker 1: school on weekends. She's become a soccer expert. But I'm
Speaker 1: surprised because it never interested her at all before this
Speaker 1: kid came along.
Speaker 2: Well, you have an invested interest when your children are
Speaker 2: playing because you know somebody on the field. So once
Speaker 2: you know somebody on the field, you tend to really
Speaker 2: enjoy the games.
Speaker 1: Right, And then then you get to meet the other
Speaker 1: parents and you get to talk and you get to compare.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: And what did people think by the time they got
Speaker 1: into high school? What do they think about you? Were
Speaker 1: they envious that you had two such powerhouses?
Speaker 2: No, I think a lot of them thought that they
Speaker 2: were good because they just grew faster than everybody else.
Speaker 2: I think they knew that they had talent, but I
Speaker 2: don't think they really shined until they got to college.
Speaker 2: I mean, they were good, don't get me wrong. They're
Speaker 2: probably the best in the area. But you don't know
Speaker 2: how that relates to the country. All you know is
Speaker 2: your small town, your state, and you don't know until
Speaker 2: they actually get in college and they play against kids
Speaker 2: all across the country.
Speaker 1: What colleges did they go to.
Speaker 2: They both of them went to University of Cincinnati, and
Speaker 2: at that time, it was not a legacy school where
Speaker 2: it was one of the top ones like Alabama or
Speaker 2: a house state or whatever. They played a Division one
Speaker 2: which was in the Big East, and they played against
Speaker 2: really good competition. But they wanted to play, and they knew,
Speaker 2: because of their sizes and maybe that they didn't have
Speaker 2: the competition level that everybody else did, that they would
Speaker 2: go to maybe a Division one school, but not a
Speaker 2: major powerhouse because they did not want to sit on
Speaker 2: the bench. They wanted to play. And whatever happens happened,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: So hometown turned out to be the right hometown.
Speaker 2: Yeah it did, it did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, fantastic, it's naughty a couple of times. It's a
Speaker 1: lovely it's a lovely town.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a good one, right on the river, really beautiful.
Speaker 1: So what were the most important values that you instilled
Speaker 1: in your boys, do you think and that's stuck.
Speaker 2: I think the importance of being loyal to your friends,
Speaker 2: that you be kind to everyone. That no matter if
Speaker 2: somebody's at school and it's the individual that's cleaning the toilets,
Speaker 2: or if it's a principal or a teacher or somebody
Speaker 2: that has a disability, that you treat everyone equally and
Speaker 2: with respect. I think that's the most important thing. And
Speaker 2: if you see someone in trouble, help you know. And
Speaker 2: if you see somebody that's being bullied or anything like that,
Speaker 2: try and step in and get in between that person.
Speaker 2: Because they were big, so they could make a difference
Speaker 2: and make sure that that child was okay. So they
Speaker 2: did that a lot, and sometimes they went a little crazy.
Speaker 2: And so I was in the principal's office and I'm like, look,
Speaker 2: they were helping this kid out who was being bullied.
Speaker 2: And I said, I'll stand behind that every day of
Speaker 2: the week.
Speaker 1: And your sons have very different pregame styles well documented.
Speaker 1: Do they explain anything about their personalities as young boys?
Speaker 2: No, I don't think so. I think that Jason's always
Speaker 2: had a funny streak in him when he's in small groups.
Speaker 2: He really has a good sense of humor. Travis just
Speaker 2: likes to be silly. He likes to make people laugh.
Speaker 2: He's a good comedian. Jason's more pensive. He thinks about
Speaker 2: things and has a bigger vocabulary obviously, But it's just
Speaker 2: I think they're very similar and very different. Jason doesn't
Speaker 2: really care what people think about him, about his clothing
Speaker 2: about the only thing he wants to people to remember
Speaker 2: is that he gave everything he had in whatever he did.
Speaker 2: That he was giving one hundred percent all the time.
Speaker 1: Well, now that he's retired from the NFL, what's he
Speaker 1: going to do?
Speaker 2: I think he's going to be going with ESPN. I
Speaker 2: don't know if it's like for sure final, but I
Speaker 2: know he's going to be doing something for Monday night football,
Speaker 2: and I don't know exactly what that entails, but I
Speaker 2: think he'll be good at it as he gets the gap,
Speaker 2: so he should be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so's he's excellent in media too.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he does a good job, so does Travis. I
Speaker 2: think they found out through the podcast that it worked
Speaker 2: even before Travis's significant other. It was just really their
Speaker 2: podcast did very very well.
Speaker 1: Does Jason have a girlfriend.
Speaker 2: Jason's married to Kylie and that Oh that's right, that's right. Yes,
Speaker 2: three grandchildren.
Speaker 1: Oh boy. Yeah, he's very different life than Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's very much much you know, the dad, the husband,
Speaker 2: he's a well rounded person. I think no matter what
Speaker 2: he chooses, I think he'll do well at I think
Speaker 2: both of them well because you know, Travis's football career
Speaker 2: isn't going to last forever either, and he'll have to
Speaker 2: choose something else to It's just putting their mind to
Speaker 2: it and deciding what they want to do. But it
Speaker 2: will never compare to the elation and the crowds cheering
Speaker 2: at them like it does in football. That'll never be
Speaker 2: the same.
Speaker 1: You know, I was at the Super Bowl this this
Speaker 1: recent one where Kansas City, of course won. How do
Speaker 1: they deal with the long interludes while the commercials are playing,
Speaker 1: when they're all kind of huddled on the field or
Speaker 1: they're huddled on the benches. Does that bother them a lot?
Speaker 1: Those big interludes in the game.
Speaker 2: When you first go to the Super Bowl, it is
Speaker 2: hard for them to get used to it because there
Speaker 2: are long periods of time. You want to make sure
Speaker 2: that your muscles do not atrophy and they don't lock
Speaker 2: up on you. So you have to keep moving. You
Speaker 2: have to keep doing things to make sure that your muscles.
Speaker 1: So that's why that's why they're always kicking and jumping
Speaker 1: and running around.
Speaker 2: Yeah, they have to make sure like they're glutes. Travis
Speaker 2: played in the game, I think it was against Miami
Speaker 2: and it was like twenty degrees below zero on the
Speaker 2: field and he never sits on the bench and he said, Mom,
Speaker 2: I had to because I could not feel my hands,
Speaker 2: I could not feel my behind. And he said, I
Speaker 2: knew that if I didn't do that, I wouldn't be
Speaker 2: able to run. So there are things that you do,
Speaker 2: no matter whether it's a weather related issue or whether
Speaker 2: it's commercials or long. You know, halftimes, they have a
Speaker 2: lot of time sitting on the bench and it sometimes
Speaker 2: it's not good, and if teams have not been there before,
Speaker 2: they have a hard time dealing with it.
Speaker 1: At home, you don't feel the delay because you're watching
Speaker 1: the fun commercial. Yeah, and that's why that's why those
Speaker 1: delays occur. But it gets you know, you drink too much,
Speaker 1: you talk to your friends too much, and it seems
Speaker 1: to everything seems to come to a halt, and it's
Speaker 1: so jarring. And you know, I enjoy watching football. I
Speaker 1: can see more at home, but to be there with everything,
Speaker 1: to hear the crowd yelling and see the lights and
Speaker 1: the fireworks and everything, it's it's a show. So it's
Speaker 1: very good. It is very entertaining. It's very exciting too.
Speaker 1: But let's talk about that Super Bowl twenty twenty three,
Speaker 1: the Kelsey Bowl. So you said that you knew somebody
Speaker 1: in your family was going to win, which is a
Speaker 1: very fabulous, fabulous feeling. But how was Jason at the end.
Speaker 1: What did he what did he say? How was he
Speaker 1: how did he act?
Speaker 2: He was a true professional. I could tell in his
Speaker 2: eyes that he really wanted it bad. I knew he
Speaker 2: wanted it bad. And they thought in the until the
Speaker 2: fourth quarter got there, they really believe they were gonna win,
Speaker 2: and it just cuts sn hatched away from them. And
Speaker 2: you know, you put everything into it, You work the
Speaker 2: entire season with all these men and you just want
Speaker 2: it to happen, and it's just devastating when it doesn't.
Speaker 2: So I know it was upset, but he was a
Speaker 2: true professional. He says, Mom, you know, go ahead, please
Speaker 2: be with Travis and enjoy the moment. I don't want
Speaker 2: to take that from you.
Speaker 1: It's so great. So then you became so the focus
Speaker 1: of a media frenzy at that time, and now with
Speaker 1: with Travis and his girlfriend, you are a real part
Speaker 1: of this whole frenzy that's occurring. Did you ever imagine
Speaker 1: that your son's careers would turn you into a star
Speaker 1: of national ad campaigns. I mean, I've seen your zip
Speaker 1: block campaign, that Chunky's soup commercials, all of this is
Speaker 1: been great for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't quite understand it myself. I just think
Speaker 2: that it's one of those things where it was just
Speaker 2: a stroke of luck that they both ended up in
Speaker 2: the super Bowl at the end, that luck. I mean,
Speaker 2: it was hard work getting there, but you never really know.
Speaker 2: They've been playing for at that point for twelve and
Speaker 2: ten years, and it's just, you know, we thought it'll
Speaker 2: never happen. If it hasn't happened up until this point,
Speaker 2: they were never good at the same time.
Speaker 1: Was that the first Super Bowl for both of them?
Speaker 2: No, Jason had won one the fifty seconds of both. Okay,
Speaker 2: they played against the Patriots. Yeah, Jason actually can say
Speaker 2: he'd beat Tom Brady. Oh, that's so great. But no,
Speaker 2: that's the only thing he has one up on Travis.
Speaker 2: Travis has three rings. But Jason beat Tom Brady in
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl. Boy, so that always bragging, right said Thanksgiving?
Speaker 2: But yeah, it's you know, it's it's just really really strange.
Speaker 2: We really didn't think it was going to happen. We
Speaker 2: were hoping it would, and then when it did, we're like, oh, no,
Speaker 2: it really did happen. But I don't still to this day,
Speaker 2: do not understand why people want to listen to me
Speaker 2: or they tell me that I'm like their mom and
Speaker 2: I wish I had a mom, you know, and I
Speaker 2: don't understand it.
Speaker 1: Well, you are our Mother of the Year and we're
Speaker 1: celebrating this on Mother's Day twenty twenty four, and I
Speaker 1: think it's just great. I mean, you should be so
Speaker 1: proud of yourself, not just for giving birth to two
Speaker 1: amazing boys, but you have maintained a really lovely demeanor
Speaker 1: during this entire time, and you are the all American mom.
Speaker 1: So enjoy it because we all think you're great.
Speaker 2: Actually, I think maybe people can relate. They can relate.
Speaker 2: They know the hours that you spend with kids, they
Speaker 2: know the grueling mornings, getting people up and dinners and
Speaker 2: driving people all over the place and getting their homework done.
Speaker 2: It's just something that we all do as moms.
Speaker 1: Well, this entry into big media, which both boys seemed
Speaker 1: to be doing and you were doing in your way.
Speaker 1: Who drove that decision or was it all of you
Speaker 1: talking with each other or did you just did it
Speaker 1: just come about individually?
Speaker 2: I think it just happened. They started with the podcast first,
Speaker 2: and when it got to the point where they were
Speaker 2: in the Super Bowl together and people wanted to talk
Speaker 2: to me, I asked them, I said, you know how
Speaker 2: open I am about things. I said, is there anything
Speaker 2: you do not want me to talk about or that's restricted?
Speaker 2: And they said, nope, our life is an open book.
Speaker 2: So I said, okay, then I'll then I'll do it.
Speaker 2: If they want to talk to me, I'll let them
Speaker 2: interview me.
Speaker 1: So well, it's great. Any of the QVC Q fifty,
Speaker 1: I'm one two listeners. I am also an ambassador for QVC,
Speaker 1: which is the premiere television shopping network, and Donna and
Speaker 1: I were in Las Vegas celebrating it and we were
Speaker 1: both on the sphere on the Exosphere.
Speaker 2: That was fun. Yeah.
Speaker 1: What did the boys say to that? Were they thrilled?
Speaker 2: He didn't see it, but they were amazed that I
Speaker 2: made it on there? Person or football player I think
Speaker 2: that made it up. There was probably Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 1: Yes, I remember seeing that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so boy, yeah that was pretty cool.
Speaker 1: So but that is a fabulous thing that's sphere in
Speaker 1: Las Vegas.
Speaker 2: And yeah, I haven't been there for a concert, but
Speaker 2: Jason got to go during this last Super Bowl because
Speaker 2: he wasn't playing, And it's just the it's spectacular, just
Speaker 2: it is graphics and everything are just amazing.
Speaker 1: And he saw you too, didn't he I went to
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl too and that's what I saw, so
Speaker 1: he must seen YouTube perform.
Speaker 2: It was incredible, he said, he knew you were there.
Speaker 2: I think Sandler and Dana Carey were there too, and
Speaker 2: he was quite impressed with all the celebrities that were
Speaker 2: there that evening.
Speaker 1: It was amazing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1: And so I'm looking forward to seeing what they each
Speaker 1: of them does in the future. And I'm sure you
Speaker 1: are too. And would you say that you're the Kardashians
Speaker 1: of sports?
Speaker 2: No?
Speaker 1: Non, Maybe we'll see a sitcom with with a bunch
Speaker 1: of you.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't. I don't think either one of them
Speaker 2: want to do like reality Yeah, reality TV. Jace Travis
Speaker 2: did it a little bit in the very beginning of
Speaker 2: his career, but I think he decided that that's not
Speaker 2: something he really wants to do, you know, twenty four
Speaker 2: to seven. So they'll do bits and pieces. He'll do
Speaker 2: a little bit of game shows. Maybe Jason will do
Speaker 2: some production work. You know, it just depends on what
Speaker 2: comes their way. They're dabbling in a lot of different
Speaker 2: stuff right now.
Speaker 1: Oh I bet, I bet. Offers are coming from everywhere.
Speaker 1: So you said on the Today Show this past week
Speaker 1: that the boys aren't the best with Mother's Day. What
Speaker 1: does that mean? Do they forget it or do they
Speaker 1: come home? What do they do?
Speaker 2: Well? You know, they always remember my birthday and they're
Speaker 2: very generous at giving me gifts and things like that,
Speaker 2: trips and what have you, and taking care of mom.
Speaker 2: So I don't have anything that I can complain about.
Speaker 2: It's just that that's one of those days that's in
Speaker 2: the well May they're on their off season, they're traveling,
Speaker 2: they're at the Derby, they're doing things and on vacation
Speaker 2: and enjoying themselves and I just I don't. I think
Speaker 2: it slips their mind and they're like, oh Jesus, Mother's Day,
Speaker 2: I've better text my mom.
Speaker 1: So what was Travis doing at the derby? He was
Speaker 1: all talking about dapper, he was very dapper. But what
Speaker 1: was he doing there? Does they have a horse?
Speaker 2: I don't think. Oh no, I think one of his friends,
Speaker 2: that's another athlete was there and he had a horse.
Speaker 2: So he was there just enjoying the moment with that person.
Speaker 2: And I can't remember which athlete he was there with.
Speaker 1: But oh, it was a beautiful day. It was just
Speaker 1: beautiful day.
Speaker 2: I could see that. It was gorgeous. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Is there a favorite gift that the boys have given
Speaker 1: you or that you cherish among you know, above all.
Speaker 3: Others, you know, not really a gift more of you
Speaker 3: know what mom doesn't want their kids to shine, and
Speaker 3: both of them have at the highest level in their careers,
Speaker 3: and that's a gift to me.
Speaker 2: But I have gotten jewelry that I cherish. Jason has
Speaker 2: uh and his wife have given me wonderful trips, you know,
Speaker 2: to Europe and what have you. And they are not selfish,
Speaker 2: they are not greedy. They are very giving children and
Speaker 2: I'm very grateful.
Speaker 1: On your son's podcast, spoke lovingly about the woman your
Speaker 1: father married after your mother died, your stepmom. Yeah, what
Speaker 1: did what did she do to create this lovely relationship
Speaker 1: with you?
Speaker 2: She was just full of love, you know. When she
Speaker 2: came into our lives, obviously our mother had passed a
Speaker 2: couple of years, and she just came in. It was
Speaker 2: like Mary Papa's had felt like Disney, you know, It's
Speaker 2: like she just came in and she took care of things,
Speaker 2: and you just knew that you could breathe easier when
Speaker 2: she was in the house. She was a lovely teacher,
Speaker 2: which I think helps with children. You know what motivates kids,
Speaker 2: you know, to your a teacher, And she just helped
Speaker 2: my brother and I tremendously just believe in ourselves and
Speaker 2: know that we could do whatever we wanted when we
Speaker 2: grew up. It just it just you have to choose,
Speaker 2: you know, to put your whole art into something if
Speaker 2: you want it bad enough.
Speaker 1: Well, how lucky, how lucky for you that that occurred.
Speaker 2: I was extremely lucky. I've had friends that have not
Speaker 2: been as lucky as I have.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, let's talk lastly about being a grandma. Yeah,
Speaker 1: now you have three little girls in your life, right,
Speaker 1: and after having just two sons. That's very very different,
Speaker 1: isn't it is.
Speaker 2: We finally got to do Bippity Bobby Boo at Disney
Speaker 2: when we were there at Magic Kingdom. Yeah, it's a
Speaker 2: lot different. It's just, you know, the choices that girls make.
Speaker 2: It's not all girls, but they tend to go towards
Speaker 2: you know, dolls and kitchens, you know, play kitchens and
Speaker 2: why it can go around and have one of those
Speaker 2: sweeper things in her hand all the time. It's just
Speaker 2: I think they just like to, you know, act out
Speaker 2: like their mom.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they emulate the women in their lives.
Speaker 2: They do so. But they love their dad. And they're
Speaker 2: always outside, you know, running around, playing on the swings,
Speaker 2: going swimming whatever they can. So they're very, very active.
Speaker 2: And I just think that they'll be good at whatever
Speaker 2: they do and they'll have the ability and opportunity to
Speaker 2: do what they want. But they're sweet. They're all sweet.
Speaker 1: And how's Jason's wife? You get along really well with her?
Speaker 2: Yeah, he got so lucky. She is amazing. Kylie is
Speaker 2: just one of a kind. I can't say enough things
Speaker 2: about her. She holds the house together, and she is
Speaker 2: an amazing.
Speaker 1: I thank you so much, and I just want to
Speaker 1: end this by saying, you are, indeed, and you sound
Speaker 1: indeed like a really great mom. And I hope that
Speaker 1: other mothers listening will take some lessons from you and
Speaker 1: offer that same kind of encouragement and stability and really
Speaker 1: a sense of well being to their children as you
Speaker 1: have to your kids. And I'm very very happy for you, Donna,
Speaker 1: and I hope to see you at QVC and our
Speaker 1: new job. We have this year long job to do.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm sure.
Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll be bumping into each other.
Speaker 2: Probably that's probably the case, but yeah, I'm interested to
Speaker 2: see what's going to happen and manifest out of that too.
Speaker 1: Well. Thank you so much and keep up the good work.
Speaker 1: You are an ideal for all of us.
Speaker 2: Thank you now, Mark, I think you set the standard.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Yes, Happy Mother's Day you two.
Speaker 2: Bye bye