The NFL season is underway and football fans from all over the country are going crazy over their team. However, there is one more group of fans to add to the mix this year.

The diehard fans of Taylor Swift, otherwise known as Swifties, are now finding their way into the football world, after news broke out about Swift dating the Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce. Almost all of the mainstream media was speculating about the possible relationship, and it was confirmed shortly thereafter.

While I am all here for Kelce and Swift being together (because they seem to treat each other well), I feel like we are drowning in content of them right now. It was an entire shock factor when it initially was announced and of course, they showed Swift at the stadium supporting her beau. It was awesome seeing her there, but suddenly it was every week that she was on camera. I mean, they spent almost an entire half of the game talking about their relationship. I do enjoy the fact that it is bringing more and more fans who wouldn’t typically tune into the NFL. There has been an increase in viewership among teenage girls of 53%. Swift’s appearances have brought in 27 million viewers for the Chiefs vs. Jets game, according to the same article listed below. This made the game “the most-watched Sunday TV show since the last Super Bowl”, according to “Taylor Swift helped boost NFL ratings, but her power extends far beyond the league” by Alexandra Canal, at finance.yahoo.com, Oct. 4, 2023. 

As a sports announcing major and someone who is involved in the media, it is a bit of an overkill. We are taught as announcers to always be prepared with a VARIETY of storylines, not just one. I mean, a couple of weeks after the announcement, the media was putting up statistics such as Kelce’s yardage when Swift is in attendance, which was fun the first time it happened, but then it kept coming up.

To me, it is not a publicity stunt for either Kelce or Swift, because let’s be honest, they don’t really need that. Kelce is a Super Bowl champion and Swift’s tours have brought in $13 million every night of the tour, “Taylor Swift is making more than $13 million a night on her tour,” according to Lucas Shaw, at nationalpost.com, July 1, 2023. Safe to say, they have made their own names without depending on the other. However, I do believe the way the media is promoting this relationship is a publicity stunt for the broadcast crew.

I am aware of the appeal to a different audience there is, and if it keeps happening, the stations will get numbers like above. However, my media presence aside, as a football fan, I just want to watch the game. Every time I tune in to the Chiefs game, it is either Swift is there, and they show her every whistle, or she isn’t there and they show the empty press box where she usually sits. 

Please do not mistake this. I love Taylor and Travis, but the media needs to slow down and focus on the task at hand: football.