Jason Kelce surprised a 13-year-old Eagles fan at the Eras Tour in London: ‘It felt like a Rocky moment’

As part of his recent whirlwind European trip, Kelce attended Taylor Swift’s shows at Wembley Stadium.

Aiden Walker, 13, with Jason Kelce outside Wembley Stadium in London at the Eras Tour on June 22. Kelce surprised Aiden, who wore a kelly green Kelce jersey to the show, in a clip that quickly went viral on social media.Read moreBarry Walker / Courtesy

Published June 28, 2024, 11:34 a.m. ET

Barry Walker and his 13-year-old son, Aiden, have been Eagles fans for years, but living in Leeds, England, they never imagined they’d have the opportunity to meet an Eagle in-person.

That all changed on Saturday, when the Walker family traveled to London to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Barry and Aiden didn’t even go to the concert — but ended up with the experience of a lifetime, thanks to Jason Kelce.

The two became Eagles fans in 2016, thanks in part to Barry’s love of Rocky. One of Barry’s coworkers was a massive NFL fan, but Barry had struggled to connect with the league.

“He says, ‘The problem is, you don’t support a team. You need to support a team about something that you love about America,’” Barry told The Inquirer. “He said it with a massive smile on his face because he knew my love for Rocky. So I’ve been a Philadelphia Eagles fan since then, and my love for the Eagles has just grown and passed down to my son. He’s probably a bigger fan than me now.”

Beyond Rocky, the Eagles — and Kelce himself — reminded the Walkers of their hometown and football club, Leeds.

“It’s a very similar mentality,” Barry said. “It’s like, everybody is against us, the fights. I think it’s just a perfect match.”

Now, the Walkers stay up to watch as many Eagles games as they can and even host Philadelphia-themed Super Bowl parties each year.

The family drove down to London for the concert. Aiden’s mother, Justina, and sister entered the stadium to attend the show, but Barry and Aiden, who weren’t attending the concert, milled around Wembley Way, the famous walkway into the venue. They knew Kelce had attended the previous night’s concert and hoped to just get a glimpse of him walking in. Out of the corner of his eye, Barry spotted Kelce.

Kelce gestured to Barry to keep quiet, to not spoil the surprise for Aiden, who was wearing a kelly green Kelce jersey. Then, Kelce tapped Aiden on the shoulder.

“I turned around, and it was pure shock, if I’m being honest,” Aiden said.

“Nice shirt, big guy,” Kelce told Aiden.

Barry and Aiden each took a photo with Kelce, and luckily for them, Kylie caught the entire interaction on video.

“Me and my daughter, we’re having our own really exciting wonderful time in the concert, and then to come out and find that he’d met his idol just absolutely completed the night,” Justina, said. “Then I was like, ‘Oh, did you video it?’ and he was like, ‘No, I didn’t think to video it, but don’t worry Kylie’s videoed it, and she was willing to send it to us.’ For me to be able to see his reaction was priceless and precious as well.”

Kelce also gave Aiden a Swift guitar pick — which has caused a bit of a rift between him and his Swift superfan sister over who gets to put it up in their room.

“I thought my son was kidding me,” Justina said. “He sends me a message to say, ‘You’ll never believe who I’ve just met,’ and I messaged him back and said, ‘Who?’ and he said, ‘Jason Kelce.’ I said, ‘You’re kidding. You’re joking. Send me a picture to prove it.’ When the picture comes through, a little bit blurred before you kind of make it clear, I could see he was stood with somebody but I’m like, it’s going to be a Jason Kelce look-alike, it’s not going to be the real Jason Kelce. So when it was [him] I was just — this was even before Taylor Swift started singing — I was just beaming. It was amazing.”

Before meeting Kelce, Aiden’s 18th birthday present was going to be a trip to Philadelphia to see the Eagles play live — “that’s his dream,” Justina said. Now, he’s trying to make that happen earlier.

“Actually wearing his Eagles jersey just intensified his love for the Philadelphia Eagles, because so many people were coming up and singing Eagles songs,” Barry said. “We promised we’d take him for his 18th, that was promised, but he’s negotiated it to his 16th now, he’s just got to go.”

The NFL has hosted games in London every season but one since 2007, and Kelce-mania has only helped the game grow even further in England. His sister now is a big fan of Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, and Aiden’s interaction with Jason, which quickly went viral on social media, is the talk of his school.

“School was mental; people were calling me famous,” Aiden said. “My friends all know Jason now.”

The moment felt all the more improbable because they secured tickets to the show just two days before. The Walkers had planned to drive down to enjoy the show from outside Wembley, if nothing else. But both Walker siblings walked away with an unforgettable experience with their heroes.

“It just felt like a Rocky moment — it’s a million-to-one shot,” Barry said. “Coming from the UK, never thought we’d bump into him or ever meet him. It just typified everything about Philly, that million to one shot.”