Refusing to perform for the Super Bowl Halftime show was not enough to keep Taylor Swift far away from the NFL.
It’s a love story baby, just say yes. In my head, these are the first words I imagine Travis Kelce, the two-time Super Bowl champion playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, told Taylor Swift after finally meeting her in person.
The pop star and the tight end (if you still don’t know what that actually means, I’m sure you’re not alone) have first been spotted together leaving Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sunday, Sept. 24 (now, if you still didn’t know about it… this one’s on you). Based on the media attention this first public outing has received, some people may argue we’re now witnessing yet another “Taylor Swift Effect,” but not quite like the ones we experienced in the past (just when I started hoping I was done spending my best years living through significant historical events).
In this multiverse of madness, those who felt relieved she chose not to perform at the Super Bowl Halftime Show sparing football fans the pop dominance that is Taylor Swift (unlike what happened last year, when hundreds of people attended the most awaited game of the year only to get a glimpse of Rihanna and be left with the forever question of “Is Fenty Beauty the right makeup brand for me?”) had to think again.
StubHub saw a 175% jump in the upcoming Chiefs vs. New York Jets ticket sales in a three days span post Taylor Swift’s appearance, and SeatGeek also confirmed that ticket prices for that specific match increased by 26% in this past week alone. If you’re an NFL fan who heard by chance about the Ticketmaster crash last November and maybe even thought “Good thing I don’t like Taylor Swift,” I’m afraid to inform you this time it may touch a stadium close to home.
But what if Kelce told you none of this was accidental? The tight end and mastermind first revealed during an episode of his podcast “New Heights” that he tried to hand Swift a “friendship bracelet” with beads composing his phone number at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City in early July, but that he had no luck giving it to her as she no longer does meet and greet sessions (which honestly can someone blame her after what happened at the Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley wedding dinner rehearsal? Taylor should really consider pulling a Doja Cat at times). After hearing this, I started believing he attended the Ivy League of manifestation.
However, his first public outing with Swift only made his public display of interest towards her even stronger. On Sept. 28, owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban stated on the sports show “First Take,” “Taylor, sorry if you’re listening Travis. Break up with him, I got a bunch of good-looking single guys that play for the Dallas Mavericks. I gotchu.” Kelce responded to the defiance on Twitter/X, inviting him to “just sign [him] to a ten day!!” (if you don’t know what that means, there are plenty of swiftie-friendly explanations of the concept under his tweet).
What the future holds for the couple is still yet to be defined, however it’s safe to say Travis isn’t the first man that comes to mind when picturing Taylor Swift’s type. He isn’t from the UK, doesn’t have a significant age gap with her and most importantly he seems to be well aware of the fact he is dating THE Taylor Swift. This total shift of direction made part of her fanbase feel skeptical about him, however, according to her countless heartbreak songs (one of which is ten (10) minutes long…), I beg to differ that her type… well… never really worked out for her in the past. Either way, the worst thing that could come out of this is Chiefs’ diss album so brutal that the NFL puts a clause in their athletes’ contract prohibiting them from dating songwriters, after she gets her fun little athlete girlfriend era of course.
