BRIDGEWATER, NJ — One might think that the viral and scandalous Jason Kelce pin-up tattoo would belong to an avid Philadephia Eagles fan. Quite the contrary, it belongs to a die-hard New York Giants fan who has Bridgewater roots.
Anyone who knows Bridgewater-Raritan High School grad Lauren Matarese-Philpott knows she never backs down from a bet. And she now has a permanent reminder of that tattooed on her arm.
Matarese-Philpott and her husband, Danny, are both avid football fans, yet they root for opposing teams. Matarese-Philpott is a Giants fan, and Danny Philpott is an Eagles fan.
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To make games more interesting, every time the Giants and Eagles played each other, the married couple would engage in bets. It began small in 2014 with one of them wearing the opposing team's jersey, then grew to betting money, and eventually escalated to getting tattoos.
"It was more like because he always talks crap about the Giants, rightfully so. So I think it was my idea but I just said, 'Well, screw it, let's up the ante and let's do tattoos'," said Matarese-Philpott.
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Matarese-Philpott lost the first tattoo bet and got Eagle backup Quarterback Gardner Minshew's mustache tattooed above her knee.
Photo Courtesy Lauren Matarese-Philpott
Then in 2023, the couple decided to bet that if the Giants won Danny Philpott would get a tatoo of Eli Manning on his butt. And then if Matarese-Philpott lost, she would get a pin-up Jason Kelsey.
Matarese-Philpott had high hopes the Giants would win, and didn't mind if she lost since, despite being a Giant fan, she always liked and respected Jason Kelsey.
"He was always my favorite Eagle," said Matarese-Philpott. "I though I'll wear it proudly. I'm a woman of my word. If I'm gonna make a bet, then I'm gonna follow through with it."
Photo Courtesy Lauren Matarese-Philpott
Ultimately, the Giants lost, and Matarese-Philpott sent the idea to her tattoo artist Joe Moreira at Pale Horse Tattoo Studio in Philadelphia.
"I'm like, 'Yo Joe. I lost the bet. Shocker. I need a Jason Kelsey tattoo pinup style.' And then he did all this," said Matarese-Philpott. "I like to think that I'm a collector when it comes to tattoos. I want whatever artist I'm going to have their spin on it. So that's just how it was with Joe."Danny Philpott went with Matarese-Philpott to get the tattoo and said he couldn't more proud of her.
"The fact that she literally womaned up and went through with it. I knew she would," said Danny Philpott. "Every time we made a bet, every single solitary time... she lived up to and did it."
While the tattoo was done in February 2023, Moreira decided to reshare it and from there TMZ reached out to Matarese-Philpott, and she went viral.
"It's still blowing my mind, because I'm just regular weirdo Lauren still, and they want to talk to me. So it still hasn't really registered, but I think it's cool that people really like the tattoo and the story behind it," said Matarese-Philpott.
The Kelce brothers even talked about the tattoo on their podcast. A reel of their reactions can be seen here - facebook.com/reel.
"I don't think I look that bad if I am being honest. They did me a solid," said Jason Kelce.
"Might be the best you've ever looked," said Travis Kelce.
Matarese-Philpott was happy Kelce liked the tattoo because she never wanted to offend anyone.
"He started talking about me and my tattoo. I started getting nervous. I think it's cool, though he likes it. I'm more worried about how his wife really feels about it, because I would never want to disrespect anyone. It is just love and funny," said Matarese-Philpott.
Looking at the upcoming football season, the couple who have about 30 matching tattoos together say they are not ready to stop with the tattoo bets. Stay tuned for the 2025-26 season bet.
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