Taylor Swift has all but stolen the spotlight this football season, and the NFL isn’t sorry.
Following complaints from football fans that the league is oversaturating its coverage with news about the “Anti-Hero” pop star’s recent attendance at Chiefs games — as well as Travis Kelce’s own comment that they’re “overdoing it” — a representative for the NFL has released a statement defending all the hype. “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time,” the NFL told People. “It’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.”
As a recap, the fuss began earlier this year when Kelce revealed he had a crush on Swift, revealing that he failed to slip the singer his phone number at one of her Eras Tour shows. A couple months later, rumors emerged that the Kansas City tight end was dating Swift, and they certainly weren’t dispelled when the pop star attended the Chiefs’ home game against the Bears in late September, followed by the team’s away game against the Jets a week later.
Swift’s attendance has already proven key to boosting viewership, with Sunday’s (Oct. 1) Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets game becoming the most watched Sunday game since February’s Super Bowl.
Specifically addressing its use of Swiftian references across NFL social media platforms — including a “Taylor was here” TikTok bio — the NFL explained in its statement, “We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally.”
“The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more,” the league’s statement concluded.
The statement came hours after Kelce, who still hasn’t officially confirmed his rumored relationship with Swift, spoke about the NFL’s extensive coverage of his alleged love story on his New Heights podcast. “They’re overdoing it a little bit, for sure,” he admitted. “Especially my situation. I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”
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