Amy Bass writes that “regardless of who wins on Sunday, the NFL has become something more than just a sport in the off-season: it’s Chapter 1 of Taylor Swift’s football era.” (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Amy Bass (@bassab1) is a professor of sport studies at Manhattanville College and author of “One Goal: A Coach, a Team, and the Game That Brought a Divided Town Together” and “Not the Triumph but the Struggle: The 1968 Olympics and the Making of the Black Athlete,” among other titles. The views expressed here are solely hers.
This Sunday’s Super Bowl promises various treats for different folks, much like how the National Football League (NFL) has transformed its game into a veritable entertainment industry. While this isn’t anything new, Taylor Swift’s addition — and the fanfare, criticism, and love that follow her and her Swifties wherever they go — has made this mix more enticing than any forecast could predict. The Gridiron has amped up its game in terms of entertainment, showcasing a vibrant display of how sports can be a vibrant spectacle about sportsmanship, but it tells us much more.
For sure, some viewers will be tuning in this Sunday for an outstanding display of American capitalism — from Budweiser’s famous Clydesdales, to BMW’s ad featuring Christopher Walken, and Bic lighters beloved by Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, and Willie Nelson. Music lovers will await moments when the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas transforms into a concert venue, where Usher performs “Lift Every Voice and Sing” alongside Reba McEntire’s rendition of the national anthem. And Post Malone presents “America the Beautiful.”
At the heart of all this, and perhaps more so than the forecast, analysis, and speculation, the Kansas City Chiefs will battle the San Francisco 49ers for their championship trophy. But beyond who wins on Sunday, there’s something more lingering than the NFL season: Chapter 1 of Taylor Swift’s football era.
And when I, for one, am not prepared for it, it might be an excellent time to unfold what has happened since September 24, when Taylor first entered the stadium, as students referred to it, “its off-season.” He greeted Travis Kelce, tight end for the Chiefs, with enthusiasm from his family’s private suite — an arena he knows well from his historic Reputation Tour, a tour that, at its core, transcended the Super Bowl’s economic impact – spanning 53 concerts in all.
Swift’s Power Unleashed
Swifties, the devoted fan base of Taylor Swift (full disclosure: count me in), knew as much about her spending capacity as they did about her devotion. It was evident in all her breakups, validating Kelce’s appropriateness as a choice when he confirmed that “Mom” understands assignments. NFL and those who broadcasted it agreed, as they jumped with joy on those first days, repeatedly showing Taylor the “Aunt” Kelce and hanging out with Brittany Mahomes. Analysts have dissected their first ardor, delving into the play-by-play to discuss her songs’ lyrics and how Travis and Taylor’s post-game journey together enriched, such as Travis teasing his brother Jason on his “New Heights” podcast, his “gate” car.
Sales of Travis’ #87 Chiefs jersey skyrocketed the day after, nearly 400%, igniting a frenzy that outshined the entire sky, “I’m in my football era” declared shirts from shirts, starting from the declaration of support for “Taylor’s boyfriend” from the elementary school sweatshirt until the post-millennial fervor. Supporters of the Bills and the 49ers claimed an equal share in supporting Travis Kelce’s “meaningless field goal,” and questioned whether Taylor was the “Chiefs’ Yoko Ono” – a position he doubled until this Sunday’s game, having led local days until then.
Since NFL fans are getting older but not necessarily wiser in their viewing habits, the move to closely follow the burgeoning global league, Swift-Kelce, with a current valuation of billions of dollars, seems smart enough to embrace younger, female fans. Ahead of the Super Bowl spot showdown between the Baltimore Ravens and the Chiefs, Taylor’s financial impact on the NFL is estimated to be nearly $330 million in hits.
At SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on January 7, 2024, during a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, fans held up signs asking, “Where’s Taylor?” Harry How/Getty Images
At this moment, it would be wise for the NFL’s own official Taylor Swift shirts to be sold — Jason Kelce will make a fantastic model — and for Taylor to think about her thoughts on the instant replay reversal clock in half the time it takes for her interviews. The so-called Swift Effect, which has already added billions of dollars to the NFL and prompted Goodell himself to be described as “astounded,” could potentially save football from ruin. Goodell mentioned in a pregame press conference in Las Vegas that “my daughters and our entire family are Swifties… Taylor is clearly a dynamo. Whatever she touches, clearly people follow. And so we count ourselves lucky and we welcome it.”
It’s football, even more than money
But it’s more than money. Taylor has been dubbed “the map” and has charted her brothers’ muscular paths for their terrifying Christmas carol on TikTok when Swifties triggered their male counterparts. Miss America, who inspired more than 35,000 people to register to vote with a single Instagram post and used full force against Pfizer’s newly made vaccine and fought back against criticism from ultra-conservatives for encouraging the public to get COVID-19 boosters and flu shots, has remained silent about supporting Colin Kaepernick once and partnering with Budweiser (now sidelined by conservatives for featuring Dylan Mulvaney in an ad).
Politically neutral (alleged) figureheads and conspiracy theorists, including one-time GOP presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, have lost their minds over the Swift-Kelce relationship, clearly disbelieving that a woman could wield such power without any kind of support. Some deep-fake conspiracy theorists even claim that Taylor Swift is a mastermind Pentagon asset and that the story of America’s influential love affair is a giant CIA psy-op pre-Biden election cycle.
I hope that at the very least, if true, Democrats will reward Coach Reid with an ambassadorship when everything is said and done.
Taylor’s football era has elicited a reaction from ultra-conservatives that suggests people haven’t thought of her more favorably before giving her the keys to their teen’s futile coup, because the more Swift tries to explain to you, the more you understand: she’s doing all of this. Do you want a conspiracy theory? Dive into Swiftie math, which orbits 13 around Taylor’s birthdate (and much more): Super Bowl 58 (5 + 8 = 13), which, if she sees you off (a flight from Tokyo that arrives nearly 13 hours later and more than likely overshoots the Japanese embassy, which has three album titles included in its official release), Taylor’s 13th NFL game of the season will be on February 11 (2 + 11 = 13) against the 49ers, with whose quarterback, Brock Purdy, I assure you, No. 13. Oh, and San Francisco was #1 seed and Kansas City was #3 seed, and, well, you know how it goes now, don’t you?
So now we await the next chapter, the next era, wondering if Taylor and Travis will give us a “Marry Me Juliet” moment or a breakup that will lead them to pen “Dear John” letters to their “beloved fans.” But specifically, this woman who has released 14 albums in less than two decades, reshaped the music industry, played guitar and piano, sold records of over 200 million, studied at Harvard and Stanford, and passed the scrutiny of Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder’s Grammys? Give her a seat at your table, football fans. Show her respect. Because 13 + 87 is 100. And it’s a perfect score.
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