Picture this: You are a diehard NFL fan watching the Kansas City Chiefs dominate the Los Angeles Chargers. Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes performing at their highest level, but the gameplay is taken off to show Taylor Swift in the stands for the 1989th time during the game.
Popular musical artist Taylor Swift has been seen in various NFL football games due to her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. While a one time mention of Taylor Swift is fine, fans of the NFL are outraged because Swift has become the only thing they see on Sunday.
The number one problem with Swift being shown in the NFL is the unknowledgeable fans brought to watch the games. There was a large boost in viewers during Week 4 when the Chiefs played the Jets. The New York Post gives the numbers,
“NBC’s Sunday Night Football game featuring the Chiefs versus the New York Jets — and Swift in the stands — on Oct. 1 clocked some 27 million viewers, a 22% lift from last year’s Week 4 matchup,” according to a Storyful Newsletter on the surge, citing figures reported on by Variety.
It’s not that Swift is to blame. The networks repeatedly showing Swift throughout games and even creating annoying graphics that discuss Swift’s influence on Kelce’s play. Kelce has always played good. He is peaking because he is a superior athlete. Swift, her fans and her singing career have nothing to do with his athleticism.
The viewership growth for the NFL is great, but the context of the viewers is the problem. Majority of these viewers are “Swifties” that only watch when Swift is on or when Kelce scores a touchdown. They are not here for the important parts of the game nor do they seem to be interested in learning about the game.
The popular TikTok trend where a “Swiftie” tells a NFL fan in their life that Taylor Swift put Travis Kelce on the map is extremely annoying. Generally, the response is something along the lines of, “You’re dumb, he’s literally won two Super Bowls!” or something of that context.
The “Swifties” are quickly taking over and they think they are funny. ‘What is Chiefs’ saw an incredible 289% increase search on the web according to the Daily Mail after changed their lyrics to her song. For most, their only knowledge of the sport of football is that Travis Kelce is a tight end and the Chiefs are the only team in the NFL. Until they are real fans of the sport, they need to stay out.
There should be some form of respect towards Swift and Kelce’s relationship, and individually their accomplishments and cute love. They have had their success with Swift reaching 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify and Kelce winning two Super Bowls.
The best part of this relationship however, is the point when it ends. This would lead to a slow viewership as she won’t be at games anymore.
For now, we are only seeing “bad blood” between NFL fans and Swifties. Taylor is unfortunately (and not purposely) “holding” the NFL in her grasp and that grasp needs to be let go.
