On September 24, a frenzy hit the news outlets as Taylor Swift attended Travis Kelce’s football game. Who and who? Taylor Swift is a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, and Travis Kelce is a starting tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. Their first public appearance together made headlines, an unusual amount for just another celebrity relationship.
Even before this hard launch, the NFL ran with the idea of Swift being connected to the league when the rumors were first mentioned. They began to reference her song lyrics during different plays, and announcers from ESPN to CBS could not stop subtly or outright mentioning her, especially in connection to Kelce.
During her first game appearance, the sports outlets could not keep the cameras off of her. After each down, the camera seemed to pan back to Swift in the press box with Kelce’s family. This continued with each additional game appearance. The football world and the Taylor Swift world are beginning to clash, causing a stir between both.
Stella McCullough, 12, being born in Kansas City, is simultaneously a Chiefs and Taylor fan.
“Travis Kelce became my favorite football player ever after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year. I loved him and was a huge fan,” said McCullough.
Also, being a big Swiftie, she fully supports this relationship.
“I love it. Because I am a huge fan of both of them. I was super excited. It’s amazing. It’s perfect.”
A big reason why Taylor fans are so supportive of this relationship is how different he is from her exes.
“I think he shows he is proud to be with her and shows he is not embarrassed, he shows everyone that he can still do his own thing and be with her, and that’s not a conflicting issue and he respects her and respects her career,” said McCullough.
Some fans like to see her at the games because, with her past relationships, she did not go public as much. Much more focus is then put on these numerous appearances since they seem almost out of character.
But as much support as Taylor fans give the relationships, the NFL seems to be showcasing her extra. They include her music, and her name in Travis’s stats, and keep the camera on her.
Conley Sundblad, 11, does not love how the NFL treats this, “ I think that it is frustrating seeing them show her after every touchdown in a Chiefs game”.
During the NBC broadcast of the Chiefs vs. Jets games, they showed Swift a total of 17 times.
Gabe Clark, 12, finds this to be annoying, but purposeful for the NFL, “The media was doing too much at the start… especially when they kept cutting to her reaction. But the NFL is being smart trying to reach an audience they haven’t been able to yet. “
Indeed, Forbes mentions that Sunday Night Football ratings among female teenagers increased by 53%, with 18-24 increased by 24% and 35+ increased by 34%.
Lizzie Hansen, 12, thinks that with these increased stats, money is the reason behind this increased attention, “They want people to watch the NFL to make money, and I feel like now because Taylor is involved, all the Swifties who don’t know football are watching the Chiefs games because she is there. It is of increasing views, of course, which the NFL likes to get more money”
Other news outlets and social media are also continuing to analyze different aspects of the relationships. Swifties and NFL/Chiefs fans had a trend going around about “putting one on the map”.
Sunblad disagrees with what many have said with “Taylor Swift putting Travis Kelce on the map”.
“She didn’t [put him on the map]. He was good before she came into his life. He won two Superbowls and was a pro bowler before,” he said.
Kelce also already had his fair share of media coverage because he played in the Super Bowl against his own brother last year.
Even so, according to NPR, Kelce has seen a 400% increase in his jersey sales and 383k new followers on Instagram. Clearly, there has been increased attention on both Swift and Kelce.
The media is starting to die down around it, but Swift will most likely still be shown whenever she is in attendance in the future.
