On Sept. 24, 2023, Taylor Swift attended her first Chiefs game. What started out as an innocent act of support for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, quickly turned into a riot of hate and bigotry in the world of sports and music.
Since their relationship started in 2023, Swift has been seen at many of Kelce’s games. While most people have no issue seeing a loving girlfriend supporting her boyfriend, many football fans—mainly those who are men—have become wrongly upset at sports networks, the NFL, the Chiefs, and Swift herself, blaming them for “ruining football.”
Ever since she attended her first game, men have used their love of football as an outlet to excuse their hatred towards Swift. Football fans seem to have unionized together, collectively deciding that Swift ruins their passion for the sport simply by coexisting with them in the stands.
The most appalling and recent example of this would be Super Bowl Sunday, when Chiefs and Eagles fans alike booed Swift when they showed her on the jumbo-tron. However, she seemingly didn’t care, trying not to laugh at the ridiculous situation.
It comes as no shock that she was nonchalant to the booing, though. Because Swift has been in the public eye for close to 20 years, there’s no denying she’s had her fair share of controversies and complaints, leaving her with the difficult challenge of learning how to deal with it.
For many years, men have continued to share their insecure and unwanted opinions about Swift. Their main argument: her music is bad. Obviously, this argument is unsound. Not only does Swift have millions of fans that would argue the contrary, but arguing against someone’s music taste is invalid when you consider that people have a difference of opinions.
In addition to ridiculing her music, men are not afraid to be sexist and narrow. Hiding behind a screen, men ridicule Swift day and night: “she’s too skinny, too fat, not pretty enough, not funny enough, not smart enough, she goes on too many dates”—the list is never-ending.
Despite the hostility of haters online, Swift has an army of fans— lovingly referred to as “Swifties”— who are not afraid to defend their favorite artist.
Recently, their go-to defense against catty football fans has been pointing out Swift’s undeniable positive impact she’s had on the NFL. Since Swift has been attending her boyfriend’s games, viewership has hit its highest mark since 2015.
Thanks to her, the NFL has additionally earned close to one million dollars compared to their usual profits. A big sum of that would be Kelce’s jersey, with sales increasing by 400% since September 2023.
Not only has Swift sold a plethora of merchandise for the team, but she’s also increased the overall audience of the NFL.
Marissa Solis, the senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing at the NFL, gives credit to Swift where it’s due. Previously, the NFL had been trying— and somewhat succeeding— at increasing their female viewership. However, Solis believes Swift got them to where they wanted to be.
“I think the Taylor effect, as many people call it, obviously boosted our audience,” said Solis. Because of Swift, a flush of teenage girls became interested in not only tuning in to see if she was at the games, but many saw themselves actually enjoying the sport.
From the autumn of 2023 to now, Swift somewhat “joining” the NFL has sparked much controversy, but it can be proven that it’s a good thing. With the money she’s brought in, the NFL and TV networks have the opportunity to make football better, something many men fail to see.
Regardless of the quarrels, Swift has stood strong. Swift’s The Eras Tour grossed over two billion dollars, and her attendance at the superbowl points to a happy relationship. Swift is no stranger to being strong, and she’s proven she can do it with a broken heart.
