LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: While football enthusiasts gear up to set their starting fantasy line-ups for the upcoming season, Taylor Swift fans are already hooked to a version of the game themselves.
While Taylor continues to captivate audiences with her Eras Tour across the country, a new game called 'Swiftball' has emerged.
The game, designed to resemble fantasy football, revolves around The Eras Tour and lets Swifties predict various elements of Taylor's forthcoming shows.
Those fans who unfortunately can't catch the singer live are also engrossed with the game as they enthusiastically tune in to platforms like TikTok to witness the chart-topper perform her greatest hits spanning her 17-year career.
Who is the creator of 'Swiftball'?
Allie, a passionate Swiftie who attended Taylor's New Jersey concert in May, introduced 'Swiftball' on X (formerly Twitter) as a response to her "post-concert sadness." Originally intended to gift a deserving fan an extra copy of Taylor's 'Midnights' album, 'Swiftball' quickly gained popularity beyond anticipation.
The game entailed creating a fantasy ballot for a one-time giveaway, allowing fans to predict aspects like outfits, guitars, and songs that would be featured in the upcoming show. Surpassing all expectations, the game garnered participation from over 18,000 fans in the past week alone.
Even Taylor seems to be aware of 'Swiftball', as she seemingly referenced it recently by expressing gratitude to fans for "following this tour like it's your favorite sport."
How is 'Swiftball' played?
'Allie Fantasy Swiftball', the official name of the game, engages Swifties from around the world in friendly competition for Taylor Swift-themed prizes, generously contributed by fellow members of the fandom.
Participating fans complete a Google Doc ballot ahead of each show, comprising 24 questions worth a combined total of 113 points. These questions prompt fans to predict various aspects of Taylor Swift's performance at the forthcoming tour stop.
Swifties have to make educated guesses about elements such as the costumes Taylor will wear during her sets and the color of the guitar she will use when performing the song "Lover."
Additionally, the fans can take a shot at anticipating more unpredictable facets of the show, like predicting the two surprise songs the artist will perform, speculating on potential special guest appearances, and estimating the duration of the standing ovation following the song "Champagne Problems."
Participants have the liberty to revise their 'Swiftball' selections until Taylor takes the stage. However, once the 'Red' singer begins her performance, the ballots become locked and unalterable.
