With half of the world’s attention focused on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl 58 victory, the other half is focused on the relationship between Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.  Kelce, the tight end on the Chiefs and known for being one of the best tight ends in National Football League (NFL) history, is now known for dating the most world-famous singer, Taylor Swift.

Kelce and Swift have been dating since September of 2023, and their publicity and popularity have only grown. In the beginning, Swift’s first game watching Kelce play was on Sept. 24, 2023 at Arrowhead Stadium where the Chiefs took on the Chicago Bears and won in a landslide 41-10. The media began to pay attention to Swift and would frequently show her on the Jumbotron or live television during the game. Swift would go to 12 games following her first, including the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, where the Chiefs took home their third Lombardi Trophy in the last five years.

However, the media did not stop at Jumbotron clips and photographs. Television programs like SportsCenter, ESPN, CBS, Fox Sports, and more all released multiple posts, reels, and stories about Swift attending Kelce’s games. These posts became almost daily to gain national and world attention about the new and upcoming couple. This consistency led to split ideas, which divided how people viewed their relationship. From one side of the perspective, Swifties who might be new to the NFL, love this relationship as it brings more engagement to those who do not like football. On the contrary, NFL fans who do not listen to Swift’s music as much as a Swiftie, have expressed their resentment towards her for the number of times she was shown on TV compared to the number of times highlights or stat lines are being posted about the game.

Junior Spencer Shipley is a known Chiefs fan at AHS, wearing his favorite team’s merchandise almost every day. With Chiefs fans and Swifties in dispute, he shared his opinions on Swift attending Kelce’s games.

“I am personally not a fan of it. I feel like it is the greatest distraction of the game,” Shipley said. “He can do it, but I just do not like Taylor Swift; she is overrated,” Shipley said.

However, AHS junior Presley Drew, is a Swiftie and seems to have a completely different response to the same question.

“I think it is good. I think it is good for her based on her last relationship. She was in a relationship I think for seven years, and she kept everything secret,” Drew said. “She [Swift] said throughout the whole relationship she was super lonely and it shows a side of her that we haven’t seen yet, but it’s healthy for her.” 

Even though there seem to be two sides to this argument, there is a third perspective where someone likes both people equally. 

“I’m happy for them; I’ve been a fan of both of them for a long time,” AHS senior Joanna Guerrero said. “I was a fan of Travis for his New Heights podcast which is when I began watching him. I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for a couple of years now and at first, I thought it was a publicity stunt, but I think it’s genuine now.” 

Three different ideas about a relationship can be changed based on which person in the relationship you knew first. For example, a Chiefs fan will be more biased to the side of Kelce, whereas a Swiftie will likely take the side of Swift. Chiefs fans will always protect their player if it comes to an argument, but Swifties do the same for their idol.

“I know, especially for me, without her lyrics I would not know how to recognize my own emotions. I think she is a great person,” Drew said.

These split perspectives about Kelce and Swift’s relationship seem to be causing a conflict among many worldwide. With over 7 million combined followers across Instagram and X (Twitter), about 53 percent of Americans identify as listeners of Swift. This leads to about 180 million on the side of Swift, and an estimated 150 million on the side of Kelce, but also, some might back both sides.

Some fans of the NFL that have watched Kelce for years, could have been a fan of Taylor Swift since she became known in 2006 with her first album. Swift has been releasing music ever since then and Kelce made his NFL debut in 2014. With Swift having a quick booming start to her career, it took Kelce a couple of years to solidify himself as the top tight end in the league. Kelce had changed the face of the NFL by utilizing the tight end more for receiving longer receptions, instead of short passes and blocking. But Swift has also been changing the NFL even in the short amount of time she has been coming to Kelce’s games.

Statistically, Kelce averaged about 98 yards and caught five touchdowns in 13 games Swift attended. But in the six games she did not go to this season, the Chiefs lost two, with Kelce averaging just under 50 yards a game and zero touchdowns scored. Swift  has affected the NFL outside of player statistics as well. The Chiefs received a 9 percent increase in viewership during early time slots and a 15 percent increase in viewership during the later time slots when Swift was in attendance. Despite all the evidence about Taylor attending games, fans still have ideologies about what Taylor has done for the NFL.

“She hasn’t done crap for the NFL. She’s just there like a trophy that they have sitting pretty in her press box when and does nothing at all,” Shipley said.

From the perspective of a hardcore Chiefs fan, Swift’s attendance at the games might get annoying from the frequency of showings all over the media. But to someone new to football, some Swifties, as active NFL viewers, have reportedly different opinions on what she does to help the NFL.

“I think she’s only brought good things to the NFL. I can see where people get annoyed seeing her on TV, but at the end of the day she’s bringing in more viewers and more money for the NFL so I don’t know why people are so upset with it,” Drew said.

As Swift’s and Kelce’s bond grows, it seems that the majority of the world from both perspectives seemingly show little hate for Kelce, and if any frustration towards their relationship occurs, it reportedly tends to lean towards Swift.

Chiefs fans fully support Kelce and what he has done for their franchise, while Swifties are happy that Swift has found a new man. On the other hand, Swifties are excited to see Swift at the games supporting her boyfriend, and Chiefs fans find Swift at the games excessive and not necessary when it comes to media attention. Without  abhorrence towards Kelce, Swift has gotten the brunt of the negativity with many words of hatred and even threats in public and on social media.

From a Swiftie’s point of view, she is an idol that has inspired youth. From a football fan’s point of view, she’s a distraction from the game that they love. But at the end of the day, Taylor Swift is just another famous person in the world supporting her boyfriend. Is it her fault how much attention she gets on national television and social media? Swift is a good person who has done a lot of good things for those in need. Even a football fan had to admit it.

“She did donate $100k to the victim’s family at the parade which is really her only good thing,” Shipley said. Although Shipley compliments Swift, he then changes his position. “Otherwise she has the most carbon emissions of anyone on earth.”

Swift does have the most carbon emissions among celebrities in the world. Swift, using her private jet to get around for her world tour and personal travel, has been listed at the top of the charts across all celebrities due to travel emissions. Even though Swift does have the most emissions reportedly, this travel is necessary to make it to all of her tour locations and get from one place to another in a shorter amount of time. One thing that football fans seemingly do not consider is the carbon emissions released by the NFL team’s private jets when flying to their games weekly sometimes across the country.

Some of the bad in Swift can be overlooked with the good. In previous statements, Drew has stated nothing but good things about Swift, and it seems all Swifties will support her through her challenges. Her songs and lyrics have been shown to help listeners through hard times and anything they too might struggle with.

“I think she is inspiring and amazing,” Drew said. “I think she helps give a voice to teen girls who are scared to speak out about their own experiences.”

It is also more than lyrics. With Swift attending Kelce’s games, football fans and Swifties have the opportunity to set aside differences in their opinions and make something that was not there before. Drew explained her opinion on what this relationship is doing for football and Swiftie fans alike.

“It’s building connections between fathers and daughters that haven’t been there before and I think that’s really cool,” Drew said.

Swift’s and Kelce’s  relationship is a modern-day love story that you only dream of in a movie. Conspiracy of Kalce proposing to Swift arose during preparation for the Super Bowl, but it has not happened yet as Kelce claimed he was only focused on one ring. Swifties are excited, but football fans could have a different opinion on their marriage.

Will they get married? 

“I think she’s a great person!” Drew said.

Will everything be at peace and everyone be content with their marriage or will things get worse and erupt in chaos?

“I feel like she just complains about boys too much,” Shipley said.