Eagles center Jason Kelce delivers speech at Phillies spring training

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WPVI) -- Philadelphia Phillies spring training got a little more crowded Monday and it wasn't just because the rest of the team arrived.

There was a special guest.

Manager Gabe Kapler had Eagles center Jason Kelce talk to his team before their first full-squad workout.

Kelce gave a toned down version of his Super Bowl parade speech. He hit home - they were underdogs, too.

"I'd be lying to you if at the beginning of the year, we were thinking about the Super Bowl. That's not what you're thinking about at that point, you're thinking about just trying to get better, to improve yourself," Kelce told reporters.

"Champions have stories to share and they're effective for a reason, because they've been through the ups and downs, they've displayed courageousness, they've come together as units, they've felt what it feels like to have people count them out and then, to prove people wrong," Kapler said.

Kelce hopes the Phillies can get going. It's been 10 years since they won it all with Brad Lidge and Charlie Manuel. But Kelce thinks these Phillies are hungry dogs, too.

"There's a lot of similarities, a good, young team with a lot of talent," said Kelce.

Outfielder Rhys Hoskins sees the similarities.

"No one really believed in them. They were kind of underdogs all year. Everyone wrote them off early. He relayed that to us. There are a lot of similarities between that team at the start of the NFL season and us now. It was cool to hear that from him. Hearing his words really fired us up," Hoskins said.

Hoskins said he got chills listening to Kelce's speech.

The Eagles center certainly knows how to give a speech.

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