On Sunday, Sept. 24, The Kansas City Chiefs took on the lowly Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium, with Kansas City defeating the Bears 41-10. During the game, tight end Travis Kelce ended up with seven receptions for sixty-nine yards and one touchdown, leading his team in receiving yards.
However, Kelce’s performance is not why he made headlines — it’s because Taylor Swift was seen watching the game from his press box.
The pairing is what St. Thomas University communications professor Jamie Gillies calls “a perfect American marketing matchup.”
“It has been fantastic for the NFL in helping it shift away, even briefly, from a decade of image and communications problems associated with the NFL brand’s decline” wrote Gillies in an email to The Aquinian.
Gillies, who taught a course on Taylor Swift and is a self-proclaimed Swiftie, added that this brand decline can be attributed to past behaviour from the NFL — from downplaying the players’ health concerns about concussions, to ignoring a culture of physical and sexual violence, to the league’s treatment of Colin Kaepernick, who knelt during the national anthem in protest of police brutality in 2016.
The Aquinian contacted Jamie Gillies for an interview but was unable due to a scheduling conflict.
Since Swift was spotted cheering for her alleged new man, ticket sales have risen for the upcoming Eras Tour. Meanwhile, Kelce’s jersey sales have gone up 400 per cent on NFL Shop. His podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, has risen to #2 on Apple Podcasts.
This boost to the NFL’s reputation and Kelce’s popularity is a result of the Swift Effect, a phenomenon that Gillies describes as “collective interest in whatever Swift focuses on or endorses.”
First-year STU student Malachi Lefurgey started listening to Swift in high school and eventually delved deeper into her albums as he grew to become a Swiftie. He mentions not knowing Kelce before the recent rumours.
“I thought Travis was a singer,” Lefurgey laughed. “But now I know who he is.”
Similarly, fellow Swiftie Chloe Chappell was not aware of Kelce before Swift’s involvement.
“I’m gonna be honest, before this, I had no clue who he was,” she said.
Both students are fans of the 12-time Grammy winner. For Chappell, she has been a fan for her entire life, since “before she could form memories.”
“I kind of grew up with her music as I grew as a person,” said Chappell. “And I think part of why I like her is because she has been such a constant in my life.”
Both students have varying opinions on the possible power couple and if both parties are in the relationship for the long haul or are just using the relationship as a PR tactic.
Chappell thinks Kelce and Swift don’t need the PR.
“They’re both extremely wealthy people,” said Chappell. “And Taylor was already breaking records with her tour before she even started dating him.”
As for Lefurgey, he echoed a different sentiment around the blossoming relationship between the two global superpowers.
“I was actually surprised that they were dating because I thought she was dating this other guy, Joe [Alwyn],” he said
STU’s resident Taylor Swift expert Gillies is looking towards the future regarding the potential Kelce and Swift romance.
“Is it a well scripted romantic comedy or a flirtation that leads to a song as a B-side or on a future 2024 Midnights: Taylor’s Super Deluxe Edition or is Travis Kelce the future Mr. Swift? Only time will tell,” said Gillies.
“Maybe this will help Swift run for president in 2028!” he joked.
