Travis Kelce is the only ‘SNL’ guest who ‘tailgated before hosting,’ Heidi Gardner says
Bringing a piece of Arrowhead Stadium to 30 Rock.
“Saturday Night Live” star Heidi Garner revealed she “tailgated” with Travis Kelce ahead of his March 2023 hosting debut on the comedy sketch series.
Gardner, who joined SNL in 2017, shared behind-the-scenes details of her experience working with Kelce during a recent appearance on the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast.
The longtime Kansas City Chiefs fan, 41, said it was “so fun” working with the NFL player, who joined her friends and family for a meal before the show.
The NFL star, 35, hosted the show in March 2023.Will Heath/NBC via Getty Images
“I got barbecue, we tailgated in the dressing room before the show and he came back with his brother, Jason [Kelce], and they had barbecue before he hosted ‘SNL,’” Gardner shared.
The “Shrinking” actress, who appeared in a sketch alongside both Kelce brothers, said she had been telling Travis, 35, about the tailgate all week but didn’t think he would show up.
“I was like, ‘I’m gonna have a tailgate in my room’ because Arrowhead Stadium is famous for tailgating,” she explained. “That’s what we do at the stadium in Kansas City. People show up early and they tailgate. They smoke barbecue all morning, they share their food and you just tailgate.”
While she didn’t think the athlete-turned-actor would join them, she wanted him to know there was a lot of “love” and “support” in the building.
“That morning, he was so nice. Jeff, one of our guys in the talent department knocked on my dressing room, and I opened it, and he had these cans of tequila sodas,” she said. “He’s like, these are from Travis for the tailgate.”
However, the comedian still felt Travis would be a no-show because there was only “30 minutes” between dress rehearsal and airtime.
“I had run to go get my makeup done before the live show, and that’s when your guests that’ll be in your dressing room start arriving,” Gardner recalled. “So my brothers are getting there. They’re texting me like, ‘We’re in.’”
As more of her guests began texting her, one message caught her eye.
“And then I get another text and I open it and it’s a picture of Travis and Jason Kelce in my dressing room eating barbecue,” she said, noting that they all started freaking out.
“I just know for a fact that’s the only host in ‘SNL’ history that’s ever tailgated before hosting,” she joked.
Earlier in the episode, the Kansas City native revealed that “it took a couple of years” for her to convince Lorne Michaels to invite the tight end on the show — under one condition.
“I’m obviously a big Chiefs fan, and I had seen him do like other little acting gigs and appearances, and I was like, ‘He’s funny, he’s charming.’”
However, Michaels said the NFL star would “have to win the Super Bowl” again if she wanted her dream to become a reality — which he did in February 2023.
“I was like, ‘That is so much pressure to ask.’ And then he won the Super Bowl!” Gardner recalled.
