The NFL is back, and so is Taylor Swift. Some fans will be elated to see the pop star cheering on Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs again on their television screens, while others will groan and gripe about Swift’s 22 seconds of airtime.
With another season of Swift-mania on the horizon, the Chiefs’ gameplan regarding her unavoidably public appearances at Arrowhead Stadium is simple: Respect Kelce and Swift’s relationship.
Chiefs president Mark Donovan recently spoke with Front Office Sports about the two stars’ increased publicity within the past year and described how the team may consciously limit Swift’s airtime for the sake of the couple’s privacy.
“This is another conversation we had with Travis was, we did our very best to respect the relationship,” Donovan said on Thursday (at the 22:35 mark in the video). “Last season, in Arrowhead Stadium, we didn’t play a single Taylor Swift song during our games. And that was a sign of respect. We’re not trying to capitalize on this. We’re trying to celebrate it, but it’s not about doing too much or showing her every touchdown or anything like that. She never appeared on our big board.”
“We had one day when we had six or seven big celebrities in the stadium, and prior to the game we showed them on the sideline and then put them on the big board,” Donovan continued. “It’s another way of saying, this is the place to be, the coolest people in entertainment are here too. And I went to Travis afterwards and I’m like, ‘It’s a little odd to me that we showed like four Hollywood people, two entertainers, a comedian and Taylor’s in our suite watching but we’re not showing her.’ And he’s like, ‘Let’s keep doing it the way we’re doing it.’”
Swift reportedly plans to be at Arrowhead as early as Thursday for Week 1’s matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
Despite some fans’ ongoing grumbles, the NFL hugely benefited from “The Swift Effect” last year. The league posted its highest ratings since 2015 with regular season games attracting an average of 17.9 million viewers, a 7% increase from the previous year, according to a January 2024 report by The Wall Street Journal.
Heading into the 2024-25 season, the NFL has already embraced Swift’s presence by releasing a hype video which featured the pop star several times.
“[Taylor] wants to be a fan,” Donovan said. “She wants to be there to support Travis, and we’re going to create that opportunity.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs President Reveals Tasteful Ways Team Plans to Show Taylor Swift at Games.
