Global pop sensation Taylor Swift has made it to the Super Bowl to cheer on her boyfriend Travis Kelce after days of breathless speculation about whether she would attend the biggest event in the United States’s sporting calendar.
Swift arrived at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas more than an hour before kickoff to watch Kelce kit out for the Kansas City Chiefs against the San Francisco 49ers.
After the game got under way, Swift, wearing a gold necklace bearing Travis Kelce’s number, 87, could be seen watching the action from a luxury suite accompanied by Blake Lively and rapper Ice Spice.
Some San Francisco 49ers fans jeered after Swift was flashed on the big screens in the stadium during the first half of the game, prompting the pop star to grab a drink and chug it down.
The 14-time Grammy winner on Saturday wrapped up the Japan leg of her Eras Tour with a sold-out show in Tokyo, before dashing back to the US on a private jet to attend the game.
Swift, who began dating Kelce last year, has attended 12 American football games to watch the Kansas City Chiefs tight end play.
Swift’s relationship with Kelce has been at the centre of a media and pop culture frenzy for months, with NFL officials crediting her presence at the games with driving a sudden surge in the popularity of the sport among young women.
“Obviously, it creates a buzz, it creates another group of young fans, particularly young women, that are interested in seeing, ‘Why is she going to this game? Why is she interested in this game?’” National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters earlier this week.
“Besides Travis, she’s a football fan and I think that’s great for us.”
Kelce joked earlier this week that he feels under pressure to win after Swift on Sunday picked up a record fourth Grammy for album of the year for Midnights.
“She’s rewriting the history books herself,” Kelce said at a news conference on Monday. “I told her I would have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with some hardware, too.”
Swift’s appearance at the 58th edition Super Bowl, which regularly attracts more than 100 million viewers, could help drive the audience for the NFL showcase to new heights.
The Kansas City Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions and a win on Sunday would deliver their third title in five years.
The San Francisco 49ers, who were leading 10-3 at halftime, are vying for their first title since 1994 for a record-tying sixth Super Bowl win.
