The NFL, The Kansas City Chiefs, and Travis Kelce: A Swiftie’s Perspective
Peyton Raymond, Starting Line Sports
I know. You probably read the title and groaned, and honestly, I don’t blame you. The Swifties have always been a visible and active fan base, which their new interest in the NFL (or more accurately, the Chiefs) has only exacerbated. I only ask for a few minutes of your time; afterwards, you can go back to Tweeting about how untalented she is and how annoying her fans are.
Let me get one thing clear: I do NOT like the Kansas City Chiefs. Aside from my utter contempt towards Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, the Chiefs are responsible for a more unforgivable crime: using a recording of the World-Renowned Florida State University Marching Chiefs for their “War Chant”. That’s our thing! You can’t just play our recording in Arrowhead like that! Just say that you wish you had the atmosphere of Doak Campbell Stadium and move on.
Am I biased due to being a member of the Marching Chiefs? Yes, but that’s beside the point…
Going into the Super Bowl, the Chiefs are 15-2. How much of their success can be explained by referee intervention is up for interpretation, but nonetheless the Chiefs are back in the Bowl (do people call it that? I think they should).
The Eagles, on the other hand, are 14-3. Not too bad, Birds! Can they stop the Chiefs Three-peat on Sunday?
Personally, I hope the Eagles emerge victorious, whether that is scripted or not. To me, a win for the Eagles is still a win for Taylor, seeing as she grew up a Birds fan in Pennsylvania. And I want to see Patrick Mahomes cry. PLEASE let me see him cry on national television.
Swift alone has brought in an estimated $330 million to the NFL. Along with that, she has introduced some new fans to the sport. Though the Swifties haven’t been met with open arms from all football fans (which is a sign of a much deeper societal issue in my opinion), Chiefs Kingdom has seemed content to ally with such a powerful fanbase. If you had access to arguably one of the most famous people on the planet, wouldn’t you use that to your advantage, too?
I love Travis Kelce as a person, and you can’t deny his talent. As someone who has followed Swift’s career for over 10 years now, it has been a joy to see her so happy. Her last two partners were ratty British artists who appeared to be jealous of Swift’s success. It is so wonderful to see her with someone who celebrates her achievements and has accolades of his own.
In 2008, Swift said, “In life, you’ll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team.” Funny how she’s been able to do both!
