After winning his second Super Bowl ring, Kansas City Chiefs’ incredible tight end Travis Kelce will host “Saturday Night Live” on March 4th.
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show” Starring Jimmy Fallon Thursday night, Kelce said he used to watch “Saturday Night Live with his mom. Kelce is expected to be joined by country singer Kelsea Ballerini as the musical guest.
Kelce is regarded as one of the best tight ends in the NFL, with 110 receptions for over 1,300 yards in the 2022 regular season. He has also caught four touchdowns in the postseason.
But it’s not Kelce’s performance on the court that landed him in the show’s 48th season, but rather his charismatic and outspoken personality.
It was Kelce who made the Beastie Boys song “Fight For Your Right” an anthem for Chiefs Kingdom after their postseason victories.
And he made headlines for his fight with Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, who referred to Arrowhead Stadium as “Burrowhead” — a reference to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow who led the team to a three-game hitting streak over the Cheifs — before the game of the 2022 AFC championship.
After the Chiefs beat the Bengals to reclaim their Super Bowl spot, Kelce’s retort telling Pureval to “shut your mouth, jabroni” drew an apology from the mayor.
But Kelce isn’t the only Kansas City favorite to take the legendary stage at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York City.
With over 900 episodes spanning 48 seasons, here are some of the biggest names in Kansas City to host ‘SNL’.
Ed Asner
Actor Ed Asner, best known as Mary Tyler Moore’s grumpy news director Lou Grant on ‘The Mary Tyler Moore Show,’ was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1929.
Asner hosted “Saturday Night Live” once on November 17, 1984 and was a seven-time Emmy Award winner and a five-time Golden Globe winner. He was also a former president of the Screen Actors Guild.
Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle hosted the show on February 16, 2019. Cheadle’s role as Mouse in ‘The Devil in a Blue Dress’ with Denzel Washington in 1995 helped build his career on TV and the big screen. He has two Grammys and two Golden Globes.
The actor didn’t spend much time growing up in Kansas City, but some of his family members attended UMKC.
Jason Sudeikis
Jason Sudeikis was also a cast member of ‘Saturday Night Live’ from 2005 to 2013 where he played politicians and performed his running man dance during ‘What’s Up With That?’ sketches.
Sudeikis was also an occasional guest on October 23, 2021.
He has won four Emmy awards, all for his lead acting role in ‘Ted Lasso’ playing the American soccer coach of a British team. The character is loosely based on Donnie Campbell, Sudekis’ basketball coach while he attended Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park, Kansas.
Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd grew up in Lenexa and also attended Shawnee Mission West. He has hosted “Saturday Night Live” five times in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2019 and 2021.
Rudd began his career in the early 90’s, making his film debut in the cult classic ‘Clueless’. He has frequently collaborated with director Judd Apatow, including on such comedies as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He also played Bobby Newport in the sitcom “Parks and Recreation” and continues to play Ant-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
