The NFL has had enough of trolls complaining about Taylor Swift footage.
It’s become a meme on social media over the last year — when Swift, 34, is at a Kansas City Chiefs game to support her boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce, she is inevitably a magnet for attention. Some NFL fans loudly voice their annoyance over a few seconds of the camera cutting away from the field (not during game action) to show her.
One fan voiced his displeasure before the Chiefs vs. Baltimore Ravens game even started Thursday night after the NFL posted a TikTok showing Swift arriving at the stadium.
“Can we get a Football post,” TikTok user GoodEdits wrote.
The NFL replied twice, first, still preGame, with “ya when the Game starts 🙂.”
Then, when the Ravens’ Derrick Henry scored the first touchdown of the season, the league posted the video in the replies with, “@Goodedits here, damn #derrickhenry #baltimore #ravens #nfl #nflkickoff.”
Meanwhile, if GoodEdits was watching the game on NBC, they were also treated to footage of Kelce onstage with Swift at the Eras Tour.
As much as some loyal football fans might not like her presence, many big names in the sports world have noted that it makes sense for the NFL to go all-in on Swift coverage when she attends a game. Peter Schrager, who hosts Fox Sports’ NFL Kickoff and NFL Network, reasoned that Swift has increased viewership.
“Taylor’s been a wonderful addition to the NFL [and] it was a wonderful addition to our show,” Shrager, 42, said on Thursday’s episode of the “Viall Files” podcast. “We suddenly had new viewers from all over because they were like ‘I like this Football’ [thing].”
He also shaded those complaining about her attendance. “I know people were resistant, that’s Neanderthals talking,” Schrager said. “The dumbest thing. Like, if she added one more viewer, [whether it’s a] boy, girl, whoever, … I think that’s really cool.”
And so there was Swift, strutting into the stadium in her denim outfit and knee-high red boots. She watched the game from a suite, spotted chatting with Travis’ father, Ed Kelce.
Deal of the Day
Score This Rich Mom-Style Matching Set Now for 20% Off! View DealSwift addressed the media frenzy around her Game attendance in her TIME Person of the Year cover story in December 2023, taking a shot at the complaining trolls.
“I don’t know how they know what suite I’m in. There’s a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don’t know where it is, and you have no idea when the camera is putting you in the broadcast, so I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once,” she said “I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
Travis and the Chiefs beat the Ravens 27-20 on Thursday as they begin their quest for a third straight Super Bowl win.
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