Some may know Travis Kelce as one of the best American football tight ends in history, others may simply know him as “Mr. Swift.” The recent buzz around the unexpected coupling of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce has captured widespread attention of nearly everyone who has some form of social media.
Given the privacy Swift valued in her last relationship, she shocked America by making a surprise appearance at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game on September 24, confirming that the two were, in fact, dating. Swift was seen sitting in a box with Kelce’s mother and close friends. Weeks after the initial event, the duo’s name cannot find its way out of headlines.
Publicity stunt or not, the NFL has benefited significantly from the attention the couple is receiving. Kelce’s jersey sales increased almost 400% after Swift initial attendance at his game, and female viewership of football games increased 53%. The Chiefs have also seen a 3X increase in home game ticket sales.The NFL took advantage of the publicity they were gaining from the couple by adding to their instagram bio “Taylor was here.” ESPN also frequently pans the camera back to Swift to gauge her reactions at every play, keeping the Swifties watching from home on their feet. In a post-game interview Kelce seemed to acknowledge these marketing techniques by saying “everybody is having fun with it.”
Since their initial debut, Kelce gained 600k new followers on Instagram, and the Kelce brother’s podcast, New Heights, co-hosted by Kelce’s brother Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles, rose to #1 on Apple charts. Moreover, the recent Saturday Night Live show also played a part in the publicity by creating an entire skit about Swift and Kelce on their Saturday show airing October 14th.
However, this constant attention has its downsides. The media keeps a close eye on the couple’s every move, often fueling breakup rumors whenever Taylor Swift misses a game. While Swift may not talk to the media regularly, Kelce routinely holds post-game press conferences. He seems to be handling the extra attention well. Kelce said, “you’ve got a lot of people that care about Taylor and for good reason,” showing a clear understanding of the public relations implications that comes with being attached to one of the biggest musicians of our time. He is careful, however, to respect some sense of privacy with the details of their developing relationship.
With Kelce flying down to Buenos Aires to help Swift kick off the next leg of her Eras tour, and Swift changing the lyrics to her song “Karma” during a concert to shout out her famous boyfriend, it looks like this relationship is not slowing down anytime soon. Both Swifties and football fans are on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next.
