Taylor Swift doesn't care about 'pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads' at Travis Kelce's NFL games
Time's Person of the Year for 2023 is a familiar one for football fans: Taylor Swift.
In an interview for the magazine's annual award, the global pop star opened up about dating Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and the realities of showing up to his games as such a high-profile figure.
“I’m just there to support Travis,” Swift told Time. “I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads, and Chads.”
Swift's frequent appearances during NFL broadcasts began in September, when she provided her dedicated "Swifties" with long-awaited evidence of her romantic relationship with Kelce by attending his team's Week 3 win over the Chicago Bears. After Swift enjoyed the victory with Kelce's mother, Donna, she was seen leaving the stadium with the eight-time Pro Bowler.
She and Travis had apparently been seeing each other for months at that point.
"By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple," Swift said. "I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date."
Since then, the novelty of Swift's presence hasn't seemed to totally wear off for production crews. Her handshake with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany, was aired on CBS during a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in October. Swift took a trip to Lambeau Field on Sunday as the Chiefs fell to the Green Bay Packers, their first loss with her in attendance. NBC's cameras panned to her before the game as her presence was excitedly announced.
“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in,” she told Time. “There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once.”
While broadcasts are out of Swift's control, even Kelce felt the NFL was "overdoing it" in October. Based on the 12-time Grammy Award winner's recent comments, it sounds like the attention isn't an issue for her or Kelce.
"I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there, and we don’t care,” Swift said. “The opposite of that is you have to go to an extreme amount of effort to make sure no one knows that you’re seeing someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
Swift’s fervent fan base has been a driving force for Kelce's increasing social media followers and skyrocketing jersey sales. That said, the NFL's popularity with women was already in a good place despite the league's less successful marketing efforts toward the demographic.
“Football is awesome, it turns out,” Swift said in jest. “I’ve been missing out my whole life.”
Time has named a Person of the Year since 1927. Swift is the first musician to claim the title alone. In 2017, she was recognized as part of the "Silence Breakers" who were collectively awarded Person of the Year honors for their role in the #MeToo movement. She is joined by 2023 Athlete of the Year, Lionel Messi, who is the first men's soccer player to win the award.
