CBS has let its statistics speak for the strong bond budding between NFL star Travis Kelce and Grammy winner Taylor Swift.
During the “Anti-Hero” singer’s fourth appearance at the Kansas City Chiefs tight end’s game on 22 October against the Los Angeles Chargers, the television network proved Swift was the good luck charm Kelce may not have known he needed.
According to a CBS report broadcasted in the middle of its Sunday coverage, Kelce has come up with more than twice the yards received during the games which Swift has been in attendance. Furthermore, at each of those games Kelce produced 99 yards, 52.5 yards more than the games the “Fifteen” artist wasn’t at.
Out of all four matches the 33-year-old music icon has been in the stands for – three at Arrowhead Stadium and one at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – the Chiefs were victorious for all of them. Earlier this month, the NFL took advantage of the fan anticipation and hype surrounding Swift and Kelce’s rumoured romance.
Promptly after the Eras Tour frontwoman appeared at back-to-back Sunday games on 24 September and 1 October, the league changed its social media cover photo to one of Swift, adding game time promotions focused on her too.
Then, prior to the Chiefs match against the Denver Broncos on 12 October, the NFL production team gathered to talk about its plans for the Thursday night coverage.
Al Michaels, a representative for Prime Video and NBC Sports, said: “Our crew talked about it this morning, you can’t make a sideshow the show. The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game.”
“There are people, I don’t know how many, it could be a sizable number, but it’s certainly not a majority, that if you trained the camera on her all night long, they’d be satisfied with that,” he continued. “This is not what we’re doing [sic] to do.”
Michaels’ idea to broadcast “everything in moderation” when it comes to Swift came after longtime football fans were displeased with the vast amount of attention the A-lister was getting during the games.
But it’s not just football enthusiasts who think the focus on the powerhouse vocalist is overdone. On 20 October, talk show host Kelly Clarkson mentioned her opinion on her eponymous program, The Kelly Clarkson Show.
“It’s not hilarious how it is literally taking over the NFL for people that like watching sports now,” she said after mentioning how she thought the coverage felt like watching The Real Housewives now.
Still, with Kelce all but verbally confirming his relationship with Swift by chauffeuring her out of Arrowhead Stadium and back to his new $6m mansion last night, the internet continues to be in a frenzy over the pair.
A source speaking to Us Weekly noted how “really happy and excited” Swift was about her new boyfriend.
“She’s at the relationship stage where she looks forward to seeing him, getting calls from him, spending time with him,” the source claimed. “She has butterflies in her stomach and she hasn’t had that in a while. She feels safe and comfortable around him physically and emotionally.”
The insider added that the two haven’t gotten to the “I love you” stage yet, but it may just be right around the corner.
