Vivian Amoia

Many viewers gather around their televisions to watch Superbowl LVII, and they witness Swift and Kelce kissing after the Chiefs win. This photo was captured on live television after Kelce gave his speech at the Trophy Ceremony.

This past Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime, and many people were upset with the outcome. This wasn’t a classic case of football fans rooting for the underdogs, instead, people were simply rooting against the Chiefs.

When pop star Taylor Swift was spotted at a Kansas City Chiefs game against the Chicago Bears on September 24, 2023, many relationship rumors began to circulate between the singer and Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. 

Prior to her appearance, Kelce had mentioned Swift on his podcast, “New Heights,” with his brother, Jason Kelce. Travis Kelce told the listeners that he had attended Swift’s “Era’s Tour” on July 8 at Arrowhead Stadium, and that he wanted to meet her after but never got the chance. 

Since September, the couple has been seen holding hands, going on dates and even spending holidays together.

Swift confirmed in an interview on December 6 that the couple had already been dating when she made her first appearance at the game in September, shocking fans. 

As of today, Swift has attended 13 Chiefs games, the 13th being Super Bowl LVIII this past Sunday. Her presence at games received lots of attention, drawing new viewership from the Swifties, Taylor’s fanbase, but also creating frustration for the football fans who thought they were seeing Taylor too much. 

I grew up in a very sports-oriented household, and I have been watching football games from a very young age. Since I have never been a huge fan of Taylor Swift, in the beginning, I was annoyed with the NFL’s coverage of her because I thought it was overdone and unnecessary. 

Similarly, Carter Cook ‘25, who is a big Kansas city sports fan and grew up watching the Chiefs, says, “At first I thought it was cool to see Taylor, but it got repetitive and it took away from watching the game.”

Even Kelce said, on his podcast, that the NFL was “overdoing it” with their coverage of Taylor. 

However, this coverage brought much attention to Chiefs games and the NFL in general, considering there are an estimated 103 million Swifties in the world. 

This posed the question for many fans of whether or not Taylor is good for the NFL.

Originally I thought streaming her was exaggerated, but after seeing how much money she has generated for the NFL, I had to take a step back and think about it.

According to Apex Marketing Group, a company that evaluates sports sponsorship and analytics, Swift has generated over $330 million in revenue for the NFL.

Taylor Swift mega fan, Annie Kiltzer 25’, says, “I think Taylor’s relationship is good for NFL ratings. One, because they are tripling their views. Also economically speaking, sales have skyrocketed. Travis’s jersey sold out immediately after the news broke of the relationship.” 

Also, while many argue that they are overwhelmed with the amount that Taylor is shown on screen, it was reported by The New York Times that she is shown for less than 25 seconds during games that run longer than 3 hours.

The past games I’ve watched, seeing Taylor on the screen was met with my “eye roll.” Thinking back, though, I probably only rolled my eyes twice per game.

Nate Burleson, co-host of CBS Mornings and Emmy Award-winning studio analyst for the CBS Television Network’s NFL pregame show, The NFL Today, said, “It’s a matter of seconds we actually show her. Get over yourselves!”

After watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, which received 115.1 million viewers (a 5 percent total increase in viewership since last year), I’ve finally decided to “get over myself.” 

Taylor Swift has had a major impact on the NFL, from generating revenue to bringing together fans of two major industries. NFL fans, including myself, should be able to embrace the relationship and tolerate 25 seconds of screen time. 

Denise Macrina, dean of students, who has always been a major football fan, shares her input on the topic. “I just go back to the whole premise that that’s her boyfriend and she’s supporting him. She can’t control the cameras.”

Maybe we should all just Shake It Off…