Ok, she isn’t ruining football, but it is interesting to analyze the reaction behind one of the biggest love stories in pop culture. Rumors of Taylor Swift dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce began in late September, ultimately being confirmed when the pop superstar appeared alongside Kelce’s mother at the Chiefs’ Week 3 slaughter of the Chicago Bears. Fox, the broadcaster of the game, showed Swift a couple times, but was not allowed to play her music during the game.

The next week, however, proved to be a different tale. Taylor Swift, alongside actor Ryan Reynolds and movie star Blake Lively, came back to see Kelce perform against the Jets at MetLife Stadium for Sunday Night Football. During the broadcast, NBC mentioned or showed Taylor Swift at least 17 times, used her 2014 song “Welcome to New York” for a promo of their show The Voice, and even debuted a trailer for her upcoming Eras Tour movie. The broadcast averaged 26.7 million viewers and saw massive viewership increases with women, especially the age 12-17 demographic, which saw a 53% rise compared to the last 3 weeks.

Social media posts from accounts like ESPN, Bleacher Report, and even Sunday Night Football and the NFL themselves, featured Taylor prominently that night, arguably even more than the game itself. 

So what has been the reception from NFL fans? Poor. Countless comments on Instagram read out, such as “No one cares” or “I would much rather see posts about (the University of) Colorado,” whose football team, coached by legendary NFL player Deion Sanders, also received a boatload of media coverage. The next night at MetLife Stadium, during a Giants-Seahawks Monday Night Football game, fans booed heavily after the same Eras Tour movie trailer was shown on the jumbotron.  Some fans have even accused the NFL of favoritism of the Chiefs due to Taylor’s support, after the league changed their Instagram bio to “the chiefs are 2-0 as swifties.”

“There are times where it becomes too much in a way,” senior and football player Drew Lane pointed out. “I understand that they are trying to better advertise themselves and get more viewers, but from an NFL fan’s standpoint, it can become a little too much. It’s ok if you show her every once and awhile, but showing her everytime there is something that has to do with Kelce, it gets to the point of ‘Yeah, we get she’s there, but it gets a little unnecessary.’” 

Drew also brought up a pretty interesting point: “If there was a Taylor Swift concert televised, and they kept showing Travis Kelce in the stands instead of Taylor, then I think [Swifties] would be reacting in the same way.”

Mr. Krieger, social studies teacher and Eras Tour attendee, uses some of Lane’s points to defend her constant appearances: “I get that people don’t like her showing up that often, but she is one of the most famous people in the world. Of course she is going to be shown as often as she is. It helps bring in viewers.”

Also popping up amid the romance is how Swifties are (supposedly) reacting to this. Some people online, even self-proclaimed fans of the singer, think that Taylor Swift fans who previously were uninterested in football and are now becoming obsessed with the game was “unhealthy,” as it proved how bad fandom could get. “I think it’s good,” Krieger opposed. “Someone you like is starting to get interested in a sport, and in turn people start liking the sport? I think it’s normal.”

So, amid all the drama over the relationship between Kelce and Swift, the only thing that really matters is what you think about it. Whether you don’t care about it (like Mr. Kreiger), support it heavily or want to rip your eyes out whenever you see Taylor Swift alongside Patrick Mahomes’ wife at Arrowhead Stadium, just know that you, as well as everyone else and the social media pages that post about it too much, all have an opinion on the matter, and not to vilify anyone based on what you think.

And if you were wondering how long the two stars would last in a relationship, Mr. Kreiger has a prediction of his own: “They will continue to date only if Kelce wins the Super Bowl this year.”