Does the key to the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive turnaround involve none other than American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift?
During the lead up to the 2024 Super Bowl between the Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, Niners Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young had an unexpected take on Swift and the added attention she’s brought the KC organization this season.
“People are going to think this is [a] goofball [opinion],” Young preluded while speaking with Kevin Clark of the “This Is Football” show produced by Omaha Productions and ESPN. “Taylor Swift coming to the games and dating Travis [Kelce] put a huge burden on the team. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was just the nature of the whole thing.”
Interesting perspective from Steve Young on THIS IS FOOTBALL about this Chiefs team: how they got better on offense as the season went along, Mahomes, Kelce and why he thought Taylor Swift was a “distraction” in the first half of the year and why she’s now their “superpower.”
“It’s a distraction,” Young went on, “and you could see the weight of that in the first half of the season.”
Then, all of a sudden, Kansas City flipped the Swift situation into a strength according to Young.
“What I saw towards the end of the season is now an ownership of that distraction to where it’s now a superpower,” the 49ers legend continued. “There’s a maturity — and again, we keep saying the word maturity with Patrick [Mahomes] and with Andy [Reid] and with everybody, and I think that’s why the Chiefs have become so [hard to beat].”
Former 49ers QB Steve Young Explains ‘Superpower’ Comment About Chiefs & Taylor Swift
After a follow-up from Clark, Young explained his superpower comment.
“[Kelce dating Swift] creates its own energy and drama, and distraction — it’s just inevitable,” the former 49ers QB stated, noting that everyone inside the organization will naturally be more focused on social media and public image. “The idea that you didn’t feel that weight on that team the first half of the season is just not in reality. I really feel like why they’re coming into this game in a powerful position is handling that unique challenge.”
“[In the championship game], Andy’s pointing at [Swift] and she’s pointing back — she’s part of the family now. And that’s a powerful place, rather than a distraction. It’s now [the opposition’s] distraction, it’s not mine [the Chiefs],” he said.
Finally, Young concluded that Kansas City is “much more dangerous” now because of how they came together and weathered the extra attention caused by Swift’s presence. He also reiterated that he thought they were “less dangerous” in the first half because the locker room appeared to have trouble overcoming this distraction at that stage of the year.
The Hall of Famer attributed his thoughts to learning and understanding a lot about the “psychology of players” throughout his career both on and off the field. Whether or not there’s any truth to this opinion is up to you.
Chiefs Average More Points When Taylor Swift Is in Attendance
Considering the Chiefs struggled with dropped passes, miscommunication, silly penalties and mental lapses throughout the early stages of the year, Young could be on to something. Having said that, there’s also always a ton of pressure on the defending champs — so it’s possible that KC was having more trouble focusing on repeating than Swift.
Either way, a study conducted by CasinoReviews.net supports that Swift’s fandom has become a sort of “superpower” for KC.
According to CasinoReviews, “the Chiefs have averaged 23.83 points per game this season when Taylor Swift has been cheering them on,” and only “19.38 points” without her. The study also revealed that the KC defense concedes “16.42 [points] when she’s attending and 17.25 when she’s not.”
So, basically, the Chiefs appear to score more and allow less whenever Swift is in the building.
“There has been some debate over whether the popstar’s presence is a distraction for both Kelce and the Chiefs,” voiced Nikoleta Kuncheva, Project Manager at CasinoReviews. “But these findings suggest Swift may actually be a lucky charm for the team, with more points scored, fewer conceded and a higher win percentage when she’s spotted cheering them on. If Swift does make it to Las Vegas in time for Sunday’s showdown, she could help cheer the Chiefs on to their fourth Super Bowl victory.”
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49ers Legend Credits Chiefs for Turning Taylor Swift Into ‘Superpower’