Swifties vs. Football

Worlds collided when pop superstar Taylor Swift attended a Kansas City Chiefs game for her rumoured boo Travis Kelce two weeks ago.

Kelce, not one to shy away from the limelight, addressed the situation on his podcast with his brother Jason last week, admitting that he brought the situation upon himself by publicly shooting his shot at Taylor twice, and publicly inviting her to his game.

Swift seemingly obliged and the Internet exploded, with the NFL’s viewership increasing ten-fold, Kelce’s jersey sales skyrocketing, and tickets to Chiefs games selling like hotcakes.

Women made hilarious TikTok videos telling their partners sarcastically that Swift “put Kelce on the map,” which their husbands or boyfriends contested, explaining Kelce’s impact on the game and potential to be a hall of famer if he continues on his current trajectory.

This past Sunday, Swift showed up yet again to the Chief’s game against the Jets, and the viewership of the game nearly surpassed last year’s Superbowl ratings.

I personally referred to the matchup as the “Taylor Swift game,” to annoy my fiance because the whole thing was so amusing.

It was all harmless fun, and an example of two worlds that could not be more different coming together to create silly entertainment for us all.

But, for some, it apparently isn’t so harmless.

Men on the internet and in real life are taking personal offence to Taylor Swift’s existence.

Since the first Chief’s game, the NFL has used Swift's songs and her identity as advertising, because they realize that having a massive star take interest in the league is actually only going to benefit the NFL.

Swift, one of the biggest artists in the world right now, is understandably going to garner attention.

The North American leg of her Eras Tour is projected to garner $2.2 billion in gross sales, and has had an impact in boosting the American economy.

In Toronto alone, Swift is doing 6 stadium shows, with tickets selling out immediately.

Swift has managed to grow and maintain a fan base that ranges from the age of 6 to 65, and it’s undeniable that there is no one profile of what a certified Swiftie looks like.

I’m not even a Swiftie like that and even I have been entertained by every second of it.

Since Swift’s first appearance at the game, men have done unhinged stuff like boo her advertisement that was played at a game at MetLife Stadium, or a grown man with a greying beard who brought a sign that said he’s “not a Swiftie.”

The Giants lost 24-3 to the Seahawks, by the way, so talk about throwing stones in glass houses.

Others have taken issue with the NFL capitalizing on Swift’s starpower for marketing, as if the whole thing is somehow her fault for existing.

And of course, the podcast bros are out here making creepy statements about her sex life as if her showing up to a football game is a justification for her objectification.

It confuses me why men are so mad. Kelce was the one who publicly started the whole thing and invited Swift to the game. He is the only one that has addressed it publicly, while she hasn’t said a single word.

Not to mention the fact that female sports fans have always existed.

Believe it or not, many women have always been fans of the NFL and other sports.

Sure, some may have taken up a new interest as a result of their favourite artist showing up, but it is not out of the ordinary for women to like watching a sport.

As a female sports fan, I know what it’s like to state you like a sport only to have men ask you to name the team’s equipment manager from 1975 to prove your loyalty.

The truth is, some men just get annoyed when they see women enjoying things.

As a lifelong fan of a losing team I’d like to add that it is also irrational to spend thousands of hard earned dollars to watch a team repeatedly lose, paint your face the colour of your teams logo, cry over your sports team getting knocked out of the playoffs, stay loyal to a team that has never won a championship, or never miss a game no matter what—but we still do it anyways.

So why is it suddenly irrational for people to get excited about Taylor Swift?

As a lover of pop culture and enjoyer of sporting events— I, for one, love to see Taylor enjoying herself, supporting her man, attracting a new demographic to sports and pissing off the haters in the process.

Stay mad.