How Jason Kelce Inspired Chip Gaines’ New Game Show Human vs. Hamster

Chip Gaines got the idea for the Magnolia Network series Human vs. Hamster from the funniest of places.

“I feel like I was inspired — it was a couple, maybe six, eight months back — and Jason Kelce, he rips his shirt off at some stadium,” Gaines, 49, revealed on the Wednesday, October 23 episode of Today. “Something about that moment inspired me about this idea: hamsters versus humans. And so, I feel like I should throw him a bone in the sense that I feel like he was the one who inspired the whole idea.”

Gaines went on to joke: “When I saw him rip his shirt off, I just felt, ‘I wish I was furrier. I wish I was hairier.’”

Jason went viral back in January for celebrating one of his brother Travis Kelce’s touchdowns by taking his shirt off and screaming out his suite window at a Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff game against the Buffalo Bills. Still shirtless, Jason proceeded to hop down into the stands at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, to continue the celebration with fans.

Gaines’ competition series Human vs. Hamster sees “the world’s most remarkable pet hamsters go toe-to-toe with teams of humans in scaled challenges that will test their speed, strength, agility — and, of course, their eating prowess — all for the sake of answering the burning question: ‘Which species is superior, humans or hamsters?’” per a press release.

Teams will compete in a series of challenges to get the chance to face off against the hamsters in a larger-than-life obstacle course called The Cage. Whoever completes the course first, the humans or the hamsters, will be crowned the episode’s winner.

“That was my idea, a hundred percent,” Chip joked on Wednesday’s episode of Today With Hoda & Jenna. “[My wife Joanna Gaines] wants to do a skating show, which is like Dancing With the Stars but on skates, and of course, I come up with this brilliant idea to have hamsters compete against humans side-by-side.” (Joanna’s roller skating competition series, Roller Jam, is currently streaming on Max.)

Just as Chip poked fun at his wife on Today, Kylie shared some funny info about Jason’s viral shirtless moment during a January interview on Good Morning America. “The first time he jumped out of the suite, I was, ‘You know what, go ahead.’ That’s my husband,” she shared earlier this year. “And then the second and third time he did it, I was like, ‘I’m gonna need you to get back in,’ because the poor cops that are out front trying to keep the chaos at a minimum. You’re making their jobs harder.”

Kylie, 32, told GMA that Jason “desperately wanted to [jump] through a table” at a pre-game tailgate. “It was on his checklist for the day, top priority of the day — go through table,” she quipped,” noting that the retired NFL star “did not get a chance to do that.”

All eight episodes of Human vs. Hamster premiere on Max Thursday, November 21.