2 October 2023
Much to my surprise, I have found myself making plans to watch Sunday’s Vikings game, or as I (along with vast swaths of social media) like to call it, Sunday’s Taylor Swift game.
I happened to be at a bar with friends during Sunday night’s Kansas City Chiefs and New York Jets game and found myself grinning in delight every time the cameras cut to Swift living her best life in a luxury suite. (Thankfully, Touch Tunes was in full swing so I didn’t have to listen to all of the awkward attempts to make TS references by the announcers.) Midway through the game, my pal Stu told me the Chiefs were going to play the Vikings at home on Sunday and, judging by the previous two Chiefs outings, Swift could very well steal the show once again.
Ross Raihala
For those of you not following the saga, here’s the quick version. In July, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce made a very public attempt to slip Swift his digits along with a friendship bracelet when she played a concert in Kansas City. It didn’t work, but it later emerged that the pair have been “quietly hanging out.”
Things really blew up on Sept. 24, when Swift showed up at Arrowhead Stadium to cheer on Kelce along with the help of his mom Donna. And things blew up even more on Sunday, when Swift returned for a second go-round, this time with a motley crew of celebrities joining her, including Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Sophie Turner and Hugh Jackman.
Taylor Swift, left, with Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, reacts during the first quarter of an NFL football game between the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
I am not a sports guy. Whatever sports knowledge I know comes by osmosis from friends and my Twitter feed, which includes far more sports fans and sports writers than one might expect from someone like me. (I also know it’s not called Twitter anymore, but it’ll always be Twitter to me.)
I know there’s a place in both football and baseball for fat guys with a very specific talent. I know fans of Minnesota sports are usually sad or mad, or both. I know why many people do not like Aaron Rodgers and I know the reason he was seen hobbling along in crutches with a scowl on his face at Sunday’s game, but I do wonder why he wasn’t just doing ayahuasca in some yurt instead.
I also know Travis Kelce is a really handsome guy — as is his older brother Jason, woof! — thanks to his gig hosting “Saturday Night Live” in March. He’s got a great smile and seems to be relatively normal and well-adjusted, at least for someone worth $30 million.
As for Taylor Swift, well, I’ve followed her from her very first single when she was a budding teen pop/country star to today where she’s a global superstar who has built her career into an industry of its own. During Sunday’s game, I played a Touch Tunes set that triumphantly wrapped with my current favorite TS song “…Ready for It?” (In a killer move, some unknown person then swooped in with “Anti-Hero” and “Lavender Haze,” for a Swift trifecta.)
RELATED: What’s the big deal with Taylor Swift? Here’s why there’s no one else like her.
I love that Swift celebrated National Voter Registration Day by encouraging her Instagram followers to register to vote via the nonpartisan nonprofit vote.org and some 35,252 did just that. I love that Kelce does commercials for Bud Light and the COVID vaccine. I love that Swifties fueled a nearly 400 percent spike in Kelce jersey sales in the days following the inaugural Taylor Swift game.
Is this a real relationship? Who cares! It’s been a blast to watch and it’s hilarious to see grim, serious-minded football fans getting really mad that one of the most famous and successful women on the planet is currently pulling focus from The Game.
I would absolutely love it if the pair’s next date is indeed Sunday right here in the Twin Cities. The only thing that would make it even better is if they exchange friendship bracelets emblazoned with their pronouns. I am, indeed, ready for it.
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