The worlds of sports and music collided in an unexpected way on a September afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The face-off between the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears on Sept. 24, 2023 seemed like a typical NFL game, but it ended up being a historic pop culture moment for the NFL and fans.
The global sensation, 12-time Grammy winner, Taylor Swift was attending the game seated next to rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce’s mother in the VIP section.
“Seeing Taylor Swift at an NFL game in Travis Kelce’s suite to watch him play was very surprising and I loved it so much. I think it’s incredible how this is bringing people together, even in unexpected ways,” said junior Kathryn Montgomery, a big Taylor Swift fan.
Kelce and Swift’s story began when Kelce decided to attend The Eras Tour at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on July 8, 2023. He said on his podcast, New Heights, a few days after the show that he was disappointed that he didn’t get to meet Taylor and that he had even made a bracelet for her with his phone number on it.
From there, rumors began to circulate about them.
The NFL even got in on the act, inserting Taylor-related commentary into their announcements. On Sept. 21, Kelce revealed that he had invited Swift to watch him play.
“I threw the ball in her court,” he said in an interview on The Pat McAfee Show, “I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead.’ We’ll see what happens in the near future.”
To many people’s surprise, she actually showed up.
Since that historic game, Swift has attended several of Kelce’s games, bringing a new audience to the NFL.
“I believe this will have an impact on Travis’s performance with more people tuning in as either haters or supporters of Taylor. She had a pretty big presence in the stadium with Mahomes trying to get Travis that touchdown, and if anything, the Chiefs, being one of the top teams in the league, will thrive off the extra attention.” said junior Keo Brady, a Chiefs fan.
The NFL, along with Kelce, is reaping the benefits of what we can dub “The Taylor Swift Effect.” According to Fanatics, Kelce’s jersey sales skyrocketed by 400% following Swift’s attendance at one game, making Kelce one of the top 5 selling NFL players.
Furthermore, Kelce’s follower count across various social media platforms increased by a total of 1.3 million people. Additionally, StubHub, a ticket resale platform, saw a 175% jump in Chiefs-Jets ticket sales three days after Swift was seen at a game. These statistics highlight the influence and marketability brought about by this unique collaboration, benefiting both the sports and music industries.
Notably, this news has captured the attention of not only from the media and major corporations but also from a significant number of PVHS students.
A recent poll of PVHS students revealed that 82% of them support Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship, while 18% do not. Additionally, 58% of people believe that Taylor Swift put Travis Kelce “on the map”, while 42% disagree.
While the public has various thoughts and opinions about this match, the couple seems to be staying strong. What began as a playful invitation and a friendship bracelet transformed into a pairing that has fans, media, and corporations all buzzing with excitement.
Moving forward, Kelce said he’ll “just keep living and learning and enjoying the moments” as he and Swift continue to get to know each other at a public level.
“At the end of the day, I’ve always been pretty good about compartmentalizing and being able to stay focused in this building, so I’ll just keep rolling with that,” Kelce said.
