Eagles tailgate reenactment of Jason Kelce’s Super Bowl speech inspired by Beau Allen
"It's my new greatest performance, which is a little strange since I didn't put much time and effort into it," Brennen Dickerson said.
Two years ago on Twitter, Eagles fan Brennen Dickerson promised to get naked and run around his house if defensive tackle Beau Allen — who sometimes played as a fullback — scored a touchdown.
Allen's reply: "dude you look like Kelce 😂."
As Dickerson watched Kelce's epic Super Bowl parade speech this year, Allen's words again came ringing through his head.
"I'm watching it saying, 'Yeah, I do kind of look like him,' " Dickerson, 27, said. "I'm thinking, 'I'm an actor. I can do that speech.' "
And so he did.
In what was perhaps the most memorable — and viral — moment of tailgating at the Eagles' season opener, Dickerson reenacted Kelce's entire speech in costume on the bed of a pickup truck in the F1 parking lot before the Eagles defeated the Atlanta Falcons.
Just one video of Dickerson's performance has more than 147,000 views in less than a week and several different videos of the speech are making the rounds on social media.
For Dickerson — an actor, cavern tour guide, and aspiring teacher from Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County — the response has been overwhelming.
"It's my new greatest performance, which is a little strange since I didn't put much time and effort into it," he said.
To prepare for the role, Dickerson first had to secure a Mummers costume like the one Kelce wore during his speech. He put the call out on Twitter and was connected with Rasta Imposta, a costume company based in Runnemede, Camden County, which licensed the rights to sell replicas of Kelce's Mummers suit.
Robert Berman, president of Rasta Imposta, said the $125 Philly Parade Costume, which went on sale in the beginning of August, has been extremely popular. The most requested size? Double XL.
"It's just so quintessential Philadelphia. It screams Philly," Berman said. "If you're in Philly, you're an Eagles fan and you saw the parade, you know exactly what it is."
After securing his wardrobe, Dickerson connected with the folks at 4th and Jawn, who host Eagles podcasts and epic tailgate parties, about collaborating. They signed up for the reenactment, providing supporting actors to play Chris Long and Jason Peters and a wooden lectern.
All that was left was for Dickerson to memorize Kelce's six-minute speech, which he said was easy because of the "distinct delivery."
What wasn't easy? Staying sober at the tailgate while in costume until he delivered the speech around 5 p.m.
"People kept offering me beers," he said. "It broke my heart to say no."
Dickerson's delivery was almost as passionate as Kelce's and the crowd ate it up like hungry dogs.
"I expected them to be crazy and exuberant and wild, and they did not disappoint," he said.
From the tailgate, the game, and the subway ride home, Dickerson estimates at least 250 people asked to have their picture taken with him.
But what he dreams of is having his picture taken with Kelce, the figure behind his once-in-a-lifetime role.
It's unlikely that Dickerson will re-create Kelce's parade speech at future tailgates, but he's not opposed to wearing the costume again.
"Everyone has a Dawkins or Wentz jersey, but not everyone has the Mummers outfit or can grow the beard to look like Jason," he said.