Chiefs News: On “new Heights,” Travis & Jason Kelce talk space and BBQ

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his older brother — Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce — host a weekly podcast called “New Heights.” The title is an homage to the Cleveland Heights, Ohio, neighborhood in which they grew up.

Following the Chiefs’ bye week (and a trip to Argentina), Travis shifts his focus back to football as the two brothers discuss the upcoming rematch between the Chiefs and Eagles during “Monday Night Football” on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

“New Heights” with Jason & Travis Kelce | Jukes Original Presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment | You can also listen to the show on Spotify.

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1. El Travidor in space?

On a previous episode of the podcast, Travis had expressed his desire to take a flight to outer space, so he could experience what it’s like to float weightlessly in the final frontier.

People have lots of reasons for why they want to go to space — like adventure, scientific research or just to gaze into the harrowing vastness of everything that exists beyond our world. But Travis has a simpler reason.

“I want to see once and for all whether the world is flat or round,” he explained to Jason.

It’s been an ongoing joke on the podcast that way too many NFL players believe the Earth is flat — so this news naturally led to the discussion of how Travis could record undeniable proof that the Earth is round in a way that conspiracy theorists would believe.

They tossed around a few ideas — like FaceTiming from space or turning on the location on Travis’ phone so people could see that he was moving in a circular orbit around the planet — but it was decided that none of these would be enough to satisfy the skeptics, which left the brothers with only one solution.

“We need to get [astrophysicist] Neil deGrasse Tyson on here to give us pointers on how to prove the earth is round,” said Jason. “And not [to] prove [it] to scientists. Like, prove to everyday people who don’t know a lot about science — like me and Travis.”

And as it turns out, Travis might get a chance to prove the Earth is round.

SpaceX employee Phil Saccullo has reached out to the “New Heights” team, asking to whom they needed to speak to make it happen.

“Is it possible to discuss spaceflight with Travis,” asked Saccullo in an email, “or his team?”

Stay tuned on this one. During this season, Travis has seen his star ascend beyond the gridiron. We’ll just have to see whether he’ll be traveling among them.

2. Travis’ trip below the equator

In case you haven’t heard, Travis is dating pop icon Taylor Swift. The singer has attended multiple Chiefs games in support of her man. While the Chiefs were on their bye week, Swift was kicking off the South American leg of her tour — and it was Travis’ turn to repay the favor.

He traveled to Buenos Aires to attend the second of three sold-out shows in the Argentinian capital — but Friday night’s performance was postponed because of inclement weather.

“The entire stage is an LED screen,” explained Travis. “Lightning and electronics don’t mesh very well.

“She wasn’t too happy about it. She kind of prides herself on playing through weather — but when it’s unsafe for her or her crew and everybody else in the stadium, you gotta do what you gotta do.”

The show was rescheduled for the following Sunday night.

With their Friday evening free, the couple took the opportunity to go out to dinner. It’s like the old saying goes: When life gives you lemons, go out to a fancy restaurant and eat some steak.

Travis did attend Swift’s show the following night. The Internet caught fire when Swift changed the lyrics to her hit song “Karma” — singing, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs.”

But even more importantly, their love seems to have convinced Swift’s father Scott — a former college player who is a longtime Philadelphia fan — to abandon the Eagles and join Chiefs Kingdom.

Love has the power to move mountains — and change the lanyards that are worn around old guys’ necks.

3. Kansas City’s best barbecue

A 92 Percenter (a “New Heights” fan) from Boise, Idaho wrote into the show, saying that they were surprising their 14-year-old son — a die-hard Chiefs fan — with a trip to Kansas City to watch Monday night’s game. The listener said they will have 48 hours in town — and a good chunk of them will be spent at Arrowhead Stadium. But they were wondering what else they should do with the rest of their time in the City of Fountains.

Travis and Jason tossed around a few ideas — but let’s be honest. If you have one day in the city, there is one thing you have to do before you leave: get some Kansas City barbecue.

This inevitably led to the debate that has raged in our city since before all of us were born . It’s the argument that has turned friends into enemies — and torn families apart.

“What’s the best barbeque in Kansas City?

For his part, Travis said that you can’t go wrong wherever you go — while Jason said that he prefers the original Joe’s Kansas City location in the Shamrock station on 47th Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.

Joe’s is a solid choice — but I also know some people who might disagree with him.

What do you think? What’s the best barbeque in Kansas City?

Let us know in the comments below — that is, unless your answer is Famous Dave’s.

In that case, shame on you! Go ahead and move to Tampa, Florida — or somewhere else with terrible barbeque — to think about what you’ve done.