In September of 2023, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift shocked both the football and music world when they announced that they were officially a couple. Since then, Swift has been spotted at many of Kelce’s football games with the Kansas City Chiefs. Conversely, Kelce has been seen at Swift’s “Era’s Tour” concert. With the Chiefs clinching their spot in the 2024 Super Bowl, the popular couple has found themselves at the center of the football world. 

The Super Bowl is widely regarded as one of the biggest televised sporting events in the world. Although the media and background information on the game always take some of the headlines, the overall buildup for the game this year has been dominated by Swift. Swift continues to overwhelm the media attention ahead of the game, and as the game inches closer there will continue to be a focus on Kelce and Swift.

On Instagram, Sports Center posted an explanation of how Swift could make the Super Bowl despite performing in Japan the night before. This had nothing to do with the Super Bowl, considering Swift isn’t playing in the game or performing at halftime. Regardless, ESPN (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) still decided to post this, and it went viral for its randomness. Many fans were unhappy with ESPN for posting something like this when it had nothing to with the game other than the fact that Kelce and Swift were dating. 

I understand the hype around her and how exciting it can be for some fans to see Swift, however, she should not be the media’s main focus in the lead-up to this game. The media should focus on the teams in the Super Bowl. I find it to be unfair to the coaches and players who have worked so hard this season just to be overshadowed by Taylor Swift.

49ers Quarterback Brock Purdy was asked on Wednesday if he was ready to disappoint Taylor Swift. He replied simply, “Yes.” The media cares more about someone that isn’t even playing rather than the actual players. 

All in all, while Swift brings her own brand of entertainment to the Super Bowl, her entertainment should not be the main focus of this year’s Super Bowl, and the focus should be on the actual players.

Since singer-songwriter and worldwide performing phenomenon Taylor Swift made her relationship public with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, both fan bases have generated rising interest and controversy. 

As Swift’s Eras Tour has grossed over a billion dollars and gathered the attention of people across the globe, her relevance in pop culture has continued to skyrocket, making Swift one of the most recognizable faces in pop culture today.

Travis Kelce has been known by American football fans for a while now as the Kansas City Chiefs have been very successful in recent years; the team won the Super Bowl in 2020 and 2023, reaching the finals once again this year for Super Bowl LVIII. His popularity has continued to rise with the publicity of his relationship with Swift and he is now featured in many advertisements.

Since making their relationship public, Kelce has been seen at Swift’s Eras Tour performances and spoken about his experience on his podcast with his brother and fellow National Football League player, Jason Kelce.

As the Chiefs have had an incredibly successful season with Kelce as one of the major contributing players to their impressive run in the playoffs, it has become common practice for Swift to attend Chiefs games.

Some members of the football community have stirred up discussion at the amount of broadcast time used to show Taylor Swift and company in Kelce’s box at the games throughout the coverage of each game, claiming that after significant plays, the cameras turn to catch the reaction of Swift.

ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) calculated the amount of time their broadcasts feature Swift to average about 29 seconds throughout an over four-hour broadcast, which is less time than many advertisements. Still, this new addition to the sport has created an uproar.

Many fans feel as though her presence and the attention she receives is distracting from the game itself and has only created more controversy about Swift’s predicted presence at this year’s Super Bowl.

As a newer sports fan, I have tried year after year to get interested in football, but I never found the sport to be as entertaining or easy to follow as other sports. As a Taylor Swift fan, however, there is a new incentive for me to feel invested in the actual football game at the Super Bowl this year, rather than just the commercials and the halftime show.

There has been an influx of Chiefs fans since the publicity around Swift and Kelce’s relationship has gone mainstream, bringing many new fans to football broadcasts. 

Instead of people getting frustrated with new attention from new fans, longtime football fans can use this new boost in interest around football and the NFL to create new relationships with the new fans; they can be open and excited about sharing the love and passion around the sport.

It is important to note that this is not the first time that a public figure has been highlighted on sporting broadcasts. It is common to feature retired players and even other non-sport-related celebrities in the audience at sporting events, in and outside of the NFL who are often greeted by audience applause.

Swift has been heckled at games by fans claiming that she has “ruined football” and in response, she said “I haven’t done anything,” which is true; she doesn’t speak about attending the games publicly and she doesn’t ask to be featured on the broadcasts. All she does is show up to support her boyfriend while he plays, just as he has for her at her tour.

For the New York Times to have an article on the front page about Swift and Kelce as part of a political conspiracy just shows the mentalities of many fans and the unrealistic ends people are willing to go to create problems, just to reject a new feminine star in a male-dominated industry. 

Why can this not just be a supportive girlfriend showing up to root for her successful boyfriend? Because she’s Taylor Swift. 

I am personally very excited to watch the big game this weekend and hopefully catch Taylor Swift rocking number 87, watching her boyfriend play in football’s biggest match-up.