Two worlds collided last Sunday when international pop megastar Taylor Swift attended a humble Kansas City Chiefs football game to watch her new pal Travis Kelce "rock the stage," as he would say. As she clapped, and cheered, and LFG'd during the Chiefs 41-10 routing of the lowly Chicago Bears, the Swift fandom — known as the "Swifties," for those uninitiated with such things — reckoned with the emotional fallout of this development.
The fandoms of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have never really had to cross paths until now. It's a new experience for everyone, and it's important to offer advanced warning for Swifties who are not already familiar with the NFL landscape.
Swift is expected to attend the Chiefs' Sunday night game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Good for her! Good for Travis! Just know, if you tune in for a few reaction shots of Swift in the top booth, be prepared for a rather ugly on-field product.
Taylor Swift expected to attend Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets game on Sunday
The Jets are god-awful. Maybe the worst team in football right now, all things considered. This matchup was highly anticipated once upon a time, but Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury one minute into the regular season transformed the Jets from must-watch television into No. 1 on the no-fly list.
New York has failed to score more than 10 points in a game over the last two weeks. Granted, New York faced a couple quality defenses in the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots. But, 10 points is not much for a professional football team. The reason New York has struggled to put points on the board is manifold, but it can be most eloquently summed up with a single two-word phrase: Zach Wilson.
Are you ready for it? Well, that depends.
Is Taylor Swift ready for Zach Wilson? She's definitely a football fan, as her public comments about her hometown Philadelphia Eagles prove. She probably knows who Zach Wilson is, but to watch him live? For several hours straight? Against the best team in football?
That takes guts and stamina. That's like attending the Eras Tour as performed by your local middle school concert band. The Chiefs will probably score a bunch of points and we can pencil in another Kelce end zone celebration, but is that enough to offset the agony of watching Zach Wilson throw a football? In 2023? It's hard to say.
Swift only has eyes for Kelce from the looks of it, so maybe she can tune out the less bearable stretches of Sunday night's inevitable stinker. It probably won't stink for her friend, so hey — that's a silver lining.
Let's do a quick social media temperature check...
If it's any consolation, the Swifites have already sat through a few hours of the Justin Fields experience. That's almost just as bad these days, so again — silver linings!
For those interested in studying Travis Kelce's route-running or watching Taylor Swift cheer behind a sheet of glass, you can catch the Chiefs-Jets game on Sunday Night Football at 8:20 PM E.T. on Oct. 1.
