Football and Taylor Swift? While they are an unlikely and unexpected combo, they are now the world’s newest craze, especially here in Kansas City.
In early August, Travis Kelce, two-time Super Bowl Champion and tight end for Kansas City Chiefs, spoke about Taylor Swift and her “Eras Tour” on his podcast, New Heights. He hosts the podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, who also plays in the NFL as a center for the Philadelphia Eagles. On the podcast, they talk about what happened that week in the NFL, and answer questions that fans ask on social media.
In this episode, Kelce talked about his attempt to make a move on Swift when attending her concert at Arrowhead Stadium back in July. “If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets. I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it,” Kelce said. This statement caught the attention of both parties’ fans and went viral all over the internet. Social media ended up doing its thing, and word got back to Swift about what Kelce had said. News broadcasters began asking Kelce’s family if he was seeing Swift. Rumors began to spread more and more.
On Sept. 24, while the Chiefs were warming up to take on the Chicago Bears, the world was taken by storm when the camera panned to Swift sitting in a private suite with Donna Kelce, Kelce’s mother, along with more of his family and friends. As she cheered throughout the game, she was even seen chest-bumping Kelce’s friends. Every time the Chiefs scored a touchdown or made a good play, the camera zoomed to Swift to see her reaction, almost as if she was part of the team. The Chiefs ended up winning 41-10 to conclude this already memorable game.
After Swift was seen at the game, The NFL saw a huge spike in views along with Kelce’s jersey sales seeing a 400% increase.
The night did not end there, however. Kelce and Swift were seen leaving the stadium together in a convertible. This was a surprise to many people because Swift typically does not go anywhere without security and bulletproof cars. The pair driving in “the getaway car” went to rooftop restaurant and bar, Prime Social, on the Country Club Plaza, where they paid for everyone’s meals, but asked them to leave so they could enjoy the night together with family and friends.
Social media continued to blow up after this night of world’s colliding. The NFL soaked in the publicity, posting about the couple on all of their accounts. They also changed their bio on their TikTok account to say, “Taylor was here 9/24/23,” but it has since been changed. X, formerly known as Twitter, was full of memes and posts where “Swifties” were trying make connections with the duo back to her albums. Among the most popular posts are jokes being made about this being the “American Revolution” for Swift because it is the first time that she is dating an American in 10 years. Others jokingly predict that Kelce is going to have a song written about him in the near future, joining the numerous ex’s that Swift wrote lyrical masterpieces about.
Just a week after all the gossip, the Chiefs played the New York Jets on Oct. 1. The morning of, Kelce was seen leaving Swift’s apartment in New York. Many fans noted out that it is an NFL rule that when traveling, players must stay in the hotel that the team has chosen. Others pointed out that that rule has been broken many times and that it is Kelce that they are talking about, who is known for being rebellious.
The game started and of course, Swift was there with Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. They again sat in a private suite where Donna Kelce also made an appearance. It was a close game, but the Chiefs ended up pulling off a 23-20 win, clearly stepping up their game for their special guests.
Since then, Swift skipped out on the Chiefs game against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 8, but was seen this past Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium when the Chiefs played the Los Angeles Chargers. She was sitting next to Britney Mahomes, Patrick Mahomes’ wife, where they chatted and even performed a handshake during the game. The Chiefs ended up winning 31-17. Many say that Swift is the Chiefs’ new good luck charm as they continue on a six game winning streak.
As Swift and Kelce continue to get more serious, the world remains buzzing and alert at their every next move. They are being seen together more and more, so stay on social media for their latest updates. Stay tuned as Kansas City takes the spotlight, housing America’s latest and most popular heartthrobs.
