One night after Taylor Swift earned her fourth career Grammy for album of the year, her boyfriend was feeling pressure to secure his own triumph in the Super Bowl.
“She’s unbelievable, she’s rewriting the history books herself,” Travis Kelce said Monday night at Allegiant Stadium, where theKansas City Chiefs will meet the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. “I told her I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain and bring home some hardware, too.”
The romance between Swift and Kelce, which NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he “couldn’t have scripted,” has been the talk of the league this season, with her appearances at Chiefs games generating intense interest from her legion of Swifties.
“She’s definitely brought a lot of new faces to the game and it’s been fun to experience that,” the Chiefs tight end said. “She seems to be enjoying the games and she’s a part of Chiefs Kingdom right now. It’s fun seeing her enjoy the game of football knowing that it’s kind of new to her life.”
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce walks with Taylor Swift following the AFC Championship game. Photo / AP
Kelce wasn’t the only one fielding questions about Swift. Chiefs coach Andy Reid said the pop star “has been great. She’s a good girl and humble.”
And while she has focused much of her attention on her boyfriend and the offense, Kansas City linebacker Nick Bolton said the defense has begun feeling the love from Swift and her fans.
“I think she’s been great for Chiefs Kingdom and also just the sport of football,” Bolton said.
Front Office Sports reported Swift has generated a “brand value” of US$331.5 million ($545m) for the Chiefs and the NFL, citing data from Apex Marketing Group.
According to the report, the figure that was calculated on Jan. 22 accounts for print, digital, radio, TV, highlights and social media mentioning Swift dating to the first game she attended on Sept. 24, then calculating the equivalent dollar value for each instance based on reach and impact.
“Taylor has an unbelievable fan base that follows her and supports her throughout her life,” Kelce said. “It’s been fun to kind of gather the Swifties into Chiefs Kingdom and open them up to the football world and the sports world. It’s been cool to just experience all that.”
Kelce also said he’s gotten to listen to parts of Swift’s upcoming album — “Tortured Poets Department,” due out April 19 — but wouldn’t reveal any details.
“I have heard some of it, yes, and it is unbelievable,” Kelce said. “I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops.”
