If you follow football even in the slightest, you may have noticed lots of talk surrounding the Kansas City Chiefs, a National Football League (NFL) team. Rumors about a romance heating up between pop star Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have been in the news a lot recently. 

It all began when Kelce went on his podcast “New Heights’’ with his brother and rival Jason Kelce. Travis discussed his time at the Eras Tour and how he tried to give his number to the queen herself but was ultimately rejected. From that point on, people began to speculate if the two were an item. On Sept. 12, Entertainment Tonight (ET) released an article stating a source close to ET saying the two were not dating, but have been hanging out. Then, lo and behold, Swift was spotted by fans and Fox News at the Chief’s game against the Chicago Bears on Sept. 24, sitting in the press box with Kelce’s mother, Donna Kelce. Swift was also seen at their most recent games against the New York Jets on Sunday, Oct. 1 and their game against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 12. 

The NFL has taken this opportunity to showcase Swift’s presence by posting about it on various social media platforms and even consistently showing her on live game broadcasts. Various news outlets have been buzzing about Swift’s appearances and this possible new romance. 

Not only that, NBC used her song “Welcome to New York” in a promo commercial for the Chiefs vs. Jets game. Many people, especially fans of the NFL, have not been super happy about all the Swift talk.  (“Haters gonna hate,” as Swift said best). On the other hand, Swifties are nothing but ecstatic about it, with many of them tuning into the games just for the off chance of seeing Swift. 

With the media buzzing about the two, it has caused an increase in viewership, especially female viewers. NBC Sports reported the Jets. vs. the Chiefs game was the second most streamed Sunday football game next to the Super Bowl. Due to that, many people have speculated that it may be a publicity stunt. 

The NFL is one of the most watched sports in America and the Chiefs have appeared in five Super Bowls, winning three out of the five. Swift is a global pop star whose most recent tour could be the highest grossing tour ever coming in at $2.2 billion, according to CNN. On that note, I personally do not think it is a stunt. Kelce and Swift both have pretty big names for themselves already. Therefore they have no need to bring more attention to themselves or try to grow more of a presence. 

Kelce really seems to be into Swift and has been talking about her for months, speaking very highly of her. Kelce also bought Swift a $2,500 floral arrangement for her premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Concert Film.” It is possible that the NFL is taking their relationship to its advantage by the constant promotion, but I also think they are just having fun and trying to keep up with what is happening in pop culture. Personally, I think all the promotion adds more fun to the game and to the NFL as a whole. If they continue to do this and still focus on NFL news, it is perfectly fine, and all the buzz will eventually dial down after a while. 

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