The Kansas City Chiefs’ Superbowl win marks the end of this year’s football season, one that has sparked disagreements among fans over the presence of Taylor Swift.
The relationship between the Chiefs’ Tight-end Travis Kelce and popstar Taylor Swift has been very public, thanks to the forces of the media. This opened the door for lovesick fans of Swift to swoon over the relationship, as well as for angry football fans to scrutinize the new focus on Swift.
When Swift was first shown during a Chiefs’ game, long-time football fans were quick to complain about the camera focusing on her instead of the game. Although the time Swift was shown on screen was little, complaints and hate continued to flood social media as the football season continued.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to viewers that networks were choosing to show Swift during the games. Although football is a staple of American culture and is not only limited to a male audience, the most devoted and regular viewers are undeniably men. While Taylor Swift fans are not only women, but Swift’s target audience is mainly young women. By including Swift during the game, having the camera be on her in between plays, networks can draw in more viewers outside their target audience. If they hadn’t before, many “Swifties”, as Swift fans have been named, began tuning in for football games to catch a glimpse of Swift.
The rage towards Swift’s new presence during football games spanned throughout the season, all the way to the Super Bowl. When the Baltimore Ravens played the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on January 28th, many football fans rooted for the Ravens to beat the Chiefs. For most fans, this was not because they were fans of the Ravens, but because the Chiefs losing would mean they wouldn’t go to the Super Bowl and Swift would not be featured during the games. Despite this, the Chiefs still attended and won the 58th Super Bowl. Swift was featured during the game, and many Swifties watched the game, giving sports broadcasting networks more viewers.
Swift and Kelce’s relationship had a large and unexpected effect on this year’s football season. Now that the Chiefs took home the trophy, disgruntled football fans are still claiming that Taylor Swift has ruined football.
