Kansas City Chiefs’ current tight end, Travis Kelce, is known to be a top-three player at his respective position in the entire National Football League. Kelce is the Chiefs’ all-time leader in receiving yards, recently overthrowing fellow tight end Tony Gonzalez.
This NFL season, news broke that Kelce and famous singer and songwriter Taylor Swift were reportedly hanging out. At that point, Chiefs fans and Swifties began to merge. One thing led to another, and Swift began to attend Kelce’s games.
“When she is there, [Kelce’s] been playing pretty good,” Chiefs fan and Special Ed teacher Mr. David Holland said. “I think it’s a good thing when she is there.”
Swift made an appearance in four of Kelce’s games. In those games, the Pro Bowler has averaged 8.5 receptions and 108 yards. Comparing that to the games the superstar wasn’t present in, the averages came to 6 receptions and 41.8 yards.
Theories were jumping around as to why Kelce was underperforming without Swift there. Many believe she’s a motivator. Others credit the fact that he’s just pressured and trying to impress her.
“He hasn’t done that well this year,” Holland said. “When she’s not there, maybe he’s just not as focused.”
Taylor’s impact reached farther than the statistics. Kelce’s infamous number-87 jersey sales skyrocketed after a 400 percent increase. It would quickly become a top-five, most-sold jersey.
I think she’s gonna want to get serious and he won’t. They’ll probably break up, and there’ll be some new breakup songs as we watch the drama unfold.
— Mr. David Holland (Chiefs Fan)
In the television industry, the NFL saw a significant spike in viewers. There was an 8 percent escalation in young girl viewers that look up to Taylor.
“I think it’s fun to watch football now,” sophomore ‘Swiftie’ Kadence Knuth said. “She’s there, and it’s interesting to see her there.”
The NFL is also greatly benefiting from the pop star’s residence. A total brand value of $122 million was strictly due to Swift. That number was reached after two of the four games we saw her show up.
Many believe Taylor is getting a little too much screen time. The average NFL fan wishes the cameras were focused on football only.
“I think the [NFL] is overdoing it,” Holland said. “The focus is about Travis Kelce and how he needs Swift to perform at a high level. Then they’re doing Dancing with the Stars as a Taylor Swift focus; it feels like it’s getting a little bit crazy.”
I don’t really know what the future holds for them. We’ll have to wait and see when it gets later on in the relationship.
— sophomore Kadence Knuth (Swiftie)
Arguments started to spread across the football world as to why the NFL was so focused on the relationship. Perhaps they know marketing will proliferate, or they will gain more eyes on their games. No matter the circumstances, this event was huge for two different parties.
Pro football gained a larger audience, and Swift attracted more fans. Two different kinds of fanbases integrate after two of the most influential people in their lives get together.
“It’s cool to see her,” Knuth said. “I like to see that she’s there supporting him.”
There was no actual confession between the two on whether or not they were actually a romantic partnership. That was, until a concert in Argentina where Swift would change the lyrics to her song Karma to say, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs,” referring to Kelce.
The Chiefs’ playmaker was indeed at the concert when she surprised everybody. The live reaction showed him to be in shock, but energetic. From here on out, time will tell what the future holds for the two phenomena.
