Sport and music have collided, but has the American singer stolen the show?
Taylor Swift has become the sudden new star of the NFL as her attendance at Kansas City
Chiefs games have drawn the attention of millions across the world. Beginning on 24
September, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce shocked fans with their relationship by publicly
showcasing their connection at a Chiefs game. Since then, the internet and social media
have been in a frenzy with the opinions of American football fans and Swifties being spread.
A few weeks ago, DramaAlert published a Tweet stating that “Taylor Swift has ruined the
NFL”. A very loaded statement against the singer who has truly done nothing wrong. Not
only is Taylor Swift being attacked by tabloids, magazines, and news outlets there has also been a social media attack of her using AI, making inappropriate and horrifically disgusting fake photos of her. The idea that Taylor Swift, much less anyone deserves to be treated this way by social media and media outlets is outrageous. The argument that she is taking away from the game is seemingly used by some American football fans as a premise to try and trash-talk her is overall false. During the CBS news coverage of the Chiefs vs. Ravens AFC Championship game on 28 January 2024, Taylor Swift was shown seven times. Those seven times amounted to 44 seconds of footage, a whopping 0.39% of the entire gameplay that lasted over three hours. Throughout the overall season, The New York Times say Taylor Swift was shown for an average of 25 seconds during each game. These statistics show an obvious disparity between Swift’s screen time and the actions of some die-hard American football fans.
Attacks against Taylor Swift are no new feat. She has been continually slandered for her
choices, actions, and dating habits for over a decade. It seems to be that this is just the
newest and most efficient way for those who dislike the global pop icon to voice their annoyance or anger against her, particularly as she has now transcended into the world of American football through Travis Kelce. If another partner of a player was shown multiple times on screen, I doubt that they would be receiving the same amount of backlash or hate.
Why is Taylor’s attendance at games shown to be bad publicity for the NFL? Her recent
involvement could be seen as a new way to try and involve more women in the sport.
There have been countless videos posted across social media showcasing young girls
watching the Chiefs games with their parents, at first to catch a glimpse of Taylor Swift but
soon became engrossed with the sport as well. CBS reported a 53% increase in the
number of girls aged 12-17, a 24% increase in women aged 18-24 and a 34% increase in those over 35 watching the sport! That increase in female viewership should be seen as a win not only for media outlets but for the sport itself and the fact that Taylor Swift’s presence is doing so much for the sport should be heralded.
It seems that no matter what Taylor Swift did in this situation, she would be in the
wrong. If she decided that it wouldn’t be smart to attend Travis Kelce’s games, she would be
seen as an uncaring girlfriend who is too caught up in her own life to make time for his
games. Her relationship with Travis Kelce was bound to receive notice but I believe both
parties are dealing with the hate and difficult situations in the best way possible.
