Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last several months, you’ve likely heard the buzz surrounding Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.
The buzz began in July of 2023 when Kelce attended Swift’s Eras Tour performance at Arrowhead Stadium. In the following months, we witnessed a head-on collision of the music and sports worlds.
Naturally, people have taken different stances on this topic, but I’ve attempted to narrow things down a bit. If you’ve been following this coverage for any amount of time, you most likely fall into one of the following categories:
A. The genuine Chiefs fan who just wants to watch a football game.
B. The “Swiftie” who refers to a Chiefs game as a Taylor Swift concert.
C. The super-fan of both, who, right now, is living in entertainment euphoria.
D. The indifferent one who couldn’t care less how this all turns out.
Other categories deserve honorable mention, such as the NFL fans who wish to see the Chiefs crash and burn, or the not-so-innocent bystanders who are looking for celebrity drama. However, those four just about cover it.
No matter which category you fall into, we simply can’t ignore the truth. From a marketing perspective, this is likely the best thing to ever happen to the Chiefs. According to sportswear company Fanatics, Kelce’s jersey sales jumped nearly 400 percent after Swift’s first visit to Arrowhead in Week 3 of the regular season.
Swift’s presence has helped shatter records in TV ratings. Not to mention local business owners are jumping at every opportunity to have their merchandise worn by Swift at one of the games.
You might be wondering which category I place myself into, and now that I’ve softened the blow, I want to give my take on the subject.
For one, I fall into category A. It’s to the point where I expect the camera to cut to Swift whenever Kelce makes a big play. Because who wouldn’t want to see the newest BFF handshake made with Brittany Mahomes? Give me a break.
Forget the fact that the wife of the quarterback (or any of the other married players for that matter) doesn’t even get this much media coverage. You would have thought Kelce and Swift were husband and wife the way the public praises them for supporting each other.
Regardless of what you think of Brittany Mahomes, she is still Patrick’s wife, the mother of his children, and has been in the picture throughout his entire football career. That storyline will never get the same amount of media coverage, but that’s an opinion piece for another day.
It doesn’t bother me if Swift wants to cheer for the Chiefs, but I’m not about to grant her queen status in the Chiefs Kingdom just because she brought some clout to the franchise. And besides, what good is having clout if you’re playing poor football?
Now, I asked myself the question, “If this were a male singer coming to the games, would you have the same reaction?” No, I wouldn’t. For one, it’s uniquely the romance aspect that’s giving the Chiefs and Swift buzz. Secondly, we’re talking about the number one globally streamed artist of 2023 with over 26.1 billion streams on Spotify.
When The Weeknd starts sitting courtside at some Las Vegas Aces games, then we’ll talk. But for now, it’s not even a comparison.
This comes from a place of wanting the Chiefs to be known for their game, not for being that one team that Taylor Swift was repping for a few months. By the way, the blame falls on Kelce, who, quite diligently I might add, sought out and invited her to Arrowhead.
The good news is that the Chiefs were already a dominating force before Taylor-gate unfolded. Even though it’s been a bumpy year on the offensive end, the Chiefs took home the AFC Championship on Sunday, Jan. 28 — the fourth time in five years.
With the NFL post-season wrapping up, soon the stadium cameras will be turned off. Time will reveal if this symbiotic relationship is genuine. Otherwise, Kelce will likely be the subject of another Spotify chart-topper. And if the sparks dwindle out during the off-season? Well, it’ll make for a very cruel summer.
