Pop superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are reportedly dating, and while that may just seem like regular celebrity gossip, its taken both the entertainment and sports industries by storm.
Swift, who is currently on a break period from her record-breaking The Eras Tour, stopped to see Kelce play against the Chicago Bears at the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium on September 24. The internet went crazy as Swift was seen in the viewing box alongside Kelce’s mom — and was even spotted shouting “Let’s f–king go!” after he scored a touch down.
Front Office Sports said there was 63% jump in female viewers between ages 18-49 during the game, over 24 million people tuned-in, and the Chiefs sold more tickets in a single day since the start of the season. Kelce’s jersey sales also spiked by 400%, and the football star gained nearly 400,000 Instagram followers.
As rumors circulated that Swift would attend the Chiefs’ game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium the following Sunday, Chiefs’ ticket prices soared. Secondary ticketing site StubHub told KansasCity.com they saw a three-fold increase in ticket sales for all Chiefs home games.
Swift did in fact attend, alongside friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and throughout the game, the NFL made sure to hone-in on the “Swift Effect.” On several occassions, the cameras cut to Swift cheering on the Chiefs and commentators mentioned her song lyrics. The NFL’s social media accounts also played along, changing its Instagram bio to “chiefs are 2-0 as swifties” after the Chiefs defeated the Jets, and its bio on X read “NFL (Taylor’s Version).” Their TikTok bio even read “9/24/23. Taylor was here.”
📲 | @NFL have changed their Twitter (X) bio to “NFL (Taylor’s Version)” and TikTok bio to “9/24/23. Taylor was here.” pic.twitter.com/DxyyzzmxVK
— Taylor Swift News 🤍 (@TSwiftNZ) September 25, 2023
While Swifties and sports enthusiasts alike are in on the fun, not everyone thinks the NFL should keep-up this momentum. Even Kelce admitted on his “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce” podcast that the coverage needs to “calm down” and his brother called it “too much.”
Nonetheless, the NFL is sticking by their coverage, noting in a statement that the league changes its bios based on “what is happening in and around our games, as well as culturally.”
“The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport,” the NFL said.
Additionally, the league went on to say that they’re still maintaining coverage of the sport: “The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more.”
Anyone hoping to see the coverage slow down between the pair shouldn’t hold their breath. While nothing has been officially confirmed regarding Swift and Kelce’s relationship at this time, everyone is still hoping for a “Love Story.”
The Chiefs are set to take on the Vikings this Sunday, followed by games against the Broncos and Chargers. Swift’s Eras Tour picks-up again on November 9 in Buenos Aires.
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