At my family’s Thanksgiving, amidst all the other family chatter, the conversation took an unexpected turn. My aunt suddenly delved into the topic of celebrity gossip. She couldn’t help but comment on Taylor Swift’s romance with Travis Kelce, finding it “embarrassing”. As Taylor Swift is one of my favorite artists, I was taken aback and wanted to hear what else she was about to say.
“She is ruining the NFL”, my aunt expressed. “All the attention surrounding this relationship in the NFL is just beyond embarrassing.”. She continued on and on.
Right now, Taylor Swift is undoubtedly one of the most famous people in the world. Her name has reached every recent NFL broadcast as she attended multiple of her boyfriend, Travis Kelce’s games. Reporter comments and social media clips make her coverage impossible to escape– for better or worse.
On top of this, The New York Post reported that the NFL pressured their reporters to run promotional ads for Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour film during the 2023-2024 NFL regular season. Moreover, Jerseys with “Swift” written on the back of Kansas City Chiefs, Kelce’s team, are being sold on internet shops like TikTok small businesses and Etsy shops.
Is the NFL capitalizing on Taylor Swift’s celebrity status? Are they publishing a relationship for their marketing gain? This story has two sides, each fanbase backing their respective groups– in most cases.
On one hand, many “Swifties” are advocating that Taylor’s publicity is simply not as big of a deal as many are making it seem. Swift herself commented on the situation saying, Taylor herself stated, “I’m just there to support Travis; I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
However, this annoys some loyal NFL fans who watch the football games for football and NOT the pop star. Chief fans claim she’s a “distraction” to what we really should be focusing on which are the games themselves.
Overall, The NFL’s pivot toward Taylor Swift reflects a move to create a broader audience by using her Chief game appearances to get more listeners and watchers. With Swift reigning as the biggest pop sensation in the world, her relationship with Travis helps the NFL get more buzz around the internet.
Embracing Taylor in different advertisements and posts invites a new wave of fans who might not typically engage with football. And while most die-hard football fans might be frustrated by all this Swiftie attention, the NFL is using this as a publicity stunt.
