Singer Taylor Swift becoming a mainstay at Kansas City Chiefs games was an unexpected development this season.
Instead of being notoriously private with her relationship, Swift embraced the chance to support her boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce. The 12-time Grammy winner, who was named Time’s 2023 Person of the Year, opened up about what it’s really like attending Chiefs games.
In the interview with Time, “I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” she explained of her public support. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
Swift also had a strong message for the NFL fans bothered by her presence at Arrowhead Stadium.
GettyTaylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes at Lambeau Field on December 03, 2023.
“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in,” she told TIME. “There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once.”
Swift has no control over how much she’s featured on the primetime broadcasts. “I’m just there to support Travis,” she reiterated. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
The “Blank Space” singer is also loving the game. “Football is awesome, it turns out,” Swift said. “I’ve been missing out my whole life.”
Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce Were Officially a Couple Before She Attended Her First Chiefs Game
Swift first appeared at Arrowhead in Week 3, when Kansas City destroyed the Chicago Bears 41-10. Since then she’s attended four more games, during which the Chiefs had gone 4-1.
While the timeline of Swift and Kelce’s romance was initially murky, she explained that they were official before she attended a Chiefs game.
“This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell,” she said. Kelce announced on his “New Heights” podcast in late July that he was “disappointed” over not getting to talk to the singer before or after her show. He lamented not being able to give her a friendship bracelet with his number on it.
Turns out, the public plea worked. “We started hanging out right after that,” Swift said. “So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date.”
As their relationship grew, Swift has gotten close with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany Mahomes. During the Chiefs’ Week 7 matchup, Swift, 33, and Brittany, 28, showed off their new celebration handshake.
Jackson Mahomes has made his way into the Taylor Swift-Brittany Mahomes handshake routine.
What a time to be alive.
When Swift couldn’t attend the Chiefs international game in Germany, she hosted a watch party in Manhattan with Brittany and other Chiefs players’ wives.
Travis Kelce & the Chiefs Have Taken the Extra Attention in Stride
GettyChiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on November 20, 2023.
In an interview with Wall Street Journal Magazine, Kelce commented on the explosion of media attention he’s received.
“I’ve never dealt with it,” Kelce said. “But at the same time, I’m not running away from any of it.”The scrutiny she gets, how much she has a magnifying glass on her, every single day, paparazzi outside her house, outside every restaurant she goes to, after every flight she gets off, and she’s just living, enjoying life. When she acts like that I better not be the one acting all strange.”
Mahomes confirmed that Swift’s presence hasn’t changed Kelce, or affected the team’s performance. “I don’t think it feels any different,” Mahomes told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington in an interview shared on November 17.
“People see the whole Taylor Swift and Travis and they make it a huge deal because it is a huge deal. I think it becomes a bigger deal to the fanbases than it does to the guys that are actually in the building.
“I’ve been lucky enough to meet Taylor and see how good of a person she is. I think you understand why it’s not become a distraction or anything like that, because everybody cares about being the best they can be every day.”
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Taylor Swift Issues Message to Fans Bothered by Her Attending Chiefs Games