As many may know, pop star singer Taylor Swift is dating Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce. This relationship has been a hot topic of numerous conversations, and there have been many controversies surrounding it. While some like that Swift is involved in the football world, others believe she shouldn’t be. There have been many theories that she made Kelce famous while others think she is distracting him and his performance in football. But I think if we view people as individuals their success can be viewed independently and not one’s success depending on the others.
In case you are unaware, Taylor Swift has been a wildly famous pop singer since she was 14 years old. She has released 14 albums and then made an executive decision to re-release almost all her albums under her name so she can actually own her music. She then got to keep the copyright in the music and her lyrics. On her most recent tour which many probably have heard of is the Eras Tour, Swift has traveled to many cities to perform multiple songs from different albums. She also announced her second leg of her tour on August 3, 2023. She has won 14 Grammys, her most recent one being album of the year. During her acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammys she also announced that her new album called The Tortured Poets Department is coming out April 19th. Given that Swift is one of the most well-known singers at the moment, more people are aware of her and Travis’s relationship. Since she broke up with Joe Alwyn after dating for 8 years, people are really interested to see how this relationship turns out.
Let’s talk more about Travis Kelce’s past. He is known for being one of the best tight ends. In the past his team has won four super bowls, including the most recent against the Las Vegas Raiders. As many may know, he also has an older brother Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. When the Chiefs played the Eagles in November, the Chiefs won which led to an emotional game for them both. Kelce and Swift’s involvement began when Kelce attended Swift’s concert but he couldn’t get the chance to exchange contact info. From this they ended up meeting later.
As always there are people who have negative thoughts on this relationship. There are also many who believe Swift is interfering with his football game. As reported by Jacob Camenker on the site Sporting News goes on to say, “When she first started attending those contests, Kelce posted a couple of 100-yard outings and two touchdowns. But Kelce then endured an extended lull during which he failed to score a touchdown in six consecutive games attended by the pop star. In the playoffs, though, he got back to his explosive self. The 34-year-old had his first two-touchdown game in front of Swift during Kansas City’s upset win over the Bills in the divisional round.”
While this is very true, we know Swift and Kelce are two famous people who have reached a lot of success before even meeting each other. Therefore, whether or not the other is there does not affect the other’s success.
On the other hand, a few people think Kelce is a “red flag”, this is that there are signs of unhealthy behavior, as he has yelled and pushed his coach multiple times during his games. This was especially apparent during the past super bowl. He did end up apologizing after the game saying he regretted his actions. But we also have fans who think this is normal athlete behavior and his reaction was “in the heat of the moment”.
Let’s hear a student’s perspective on this topic. Let’s start by listening to Sophomore Ellie Anspach, “I think if she is happy, I don’t have much to say about it. I have been a little skeptic about how out in the open it is, normally her relationships are more closed off. I think it brings in a new crowd to the game, which can be good and bad. I would never try to go to a game just because she could possibly be there, but it’s fun to know that she has that connection with football like any other person. I don’t believe she is distracting him. It’s his job and he can separate work and home life. Just like everyone has to. I mean this season he did a tremendous job. He had the most yards on receptions in the 2023 playoffs, with 355 yards. So he still continued to play well this season into the playoffs and Superbowl.”
I believe it’s reasonable to say that opinions vary: some believe Swift’s success is taking away from Kelce’s, while others believe she has little impact on his performance and just likes watching his games for enjoyment.
All in all I think that when you are this famous and have a public relationship, everyone is always going to have an opinion. I think that when Swift is put on the big screen during Kelce’s games it isn’t her fault whatsoever. People shouldn’t be putting the blame on her. Kelce’s success during a game shouldn’t be blamed on if Swift was there attending his game or not. Did she really affect his performance by being there watching him which caused a lull in his performance? Is it bad that she brought new fans to the NFL? Both of their success is great and we can see that but just because they are dating now shouldn’t mean Taylor should get the hate she is because of attending his games.