Kansas City, home to the Chiefs and thousands of Taylor Swift fans, has recently experienced an internet takeover like no other. On Sunday, September 24, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift officially unveiled their relationship. Speculation about a possible connection between the two has been prevalent since July, when Kelce first revealed on his podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, that he had tried to give Swift a friendship bracelet at her Eras tour concert.
Rumors and hope for the two persisted over the summer, ramping up when Jason Kelce was asked about his brother’s relationship on the “Thursday Night Football Postgame Show.”
Then, on September 22, Kelce stated that he had invited Taylor Swift to a game at Arrowhead Stadium. Sunday, Swift was seen cheering in Kelce’s suite with his mother, Donna, which solidified the rumors and completely broke the internet. “It’s crazy, it’s all people talk about,” said Dylan Markey (‘24), an avid Chiefs and Taylor Swift fan.
Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs impressively defeated the Chicago Bears at 41-10, but hardly anyone was discussing the actual game. All eyes were on Taylor Swift as she cheered for Kelce, and the relationship is taking the internet by storm.
The NFL’s official Instagram account has posted numerous times about it, with their post showing Swift’s reaction to Kelce’s touchdown gaining over 6,000 comments, 593,000 likes, and 9,500,000 views.
During the game Kelce was facing Swift’s suite, looking up and smiling at her. “I was watching the football game and I heard nothing about football. It was just panning over to Taylor Swift every 10 minutes when Travis Kelce passed, which is pretty awesome,” said Markey (‘24).
There were speculations that he requested to visit the suite before the game was over, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid denied him. Kelce has gained 900,000 Instagram followers in the last few days, and fans of both the Chiefs and Swift have not stopped posting and sharing about the recently named, “Traylor,” also called “Tayvis,” or “Swelce.”
Following the game, Kelce and Swift were seen leaving Arrowhead Stadium together. Kelce had donned a blue and white matching denim jacket and jeans from the brand, KidSuper Studio. The outfit’s colors serve as a reference to Swift’s album 1989, which will be re-released on October 27. KidSuper Studio has renamed the matching set, now called the 1989 Bedroom Painting. Swift was seen wearing a red and gold Chiefs jacket as the pair left. Additionally, the sales of Kelce’s jersey have sky-rocketed over 400% and they are now being sold for much steeper prices.
The news about their relationship didn’t stop once the two left the game but continued as they were spotted together in a convertible, driving through Kansas City. Later that night the two partied at Ocean Prime, a local restaurant and bar. Upon arriving at the restaurant the two reportedly paid for the meals of everyone in the restaurant, on the condition that they leave. At the party in the empty restaurant, many other Chiefs players were in attendance, which lasted until 2 a.m.
The budding relationship has dominated the Barstow community, becoming the subject of conversations both in and out of the classroom.
“I think it’s really good for Travis,” said senior Connor Lucido ‘24. The pair has been discussed numerous times, with students advocating both for and against the relationship.
“I think they’re gonna break up before the end of the season,” said Markey ‘24. “Once she finds out he’s a loser and didn’t make it to the Super Bowl, then she’s gonna break up with him.”
Others have hope for the relationship, but are worried it won’t last. “I want them to stay together, […]. I don’t know if he would be husband material,” said James Knoflicek ‘24. “I don’t think it’s gonna end badly. I don’t think he would do anything wrong, or she would do anything wrong. They just don’t seem like soulmates.”
While the relationship may not last, students are excited that Swift may write some new songs based on her experience. “We’re gonna have a song about us,” said Markey, hoping that Kansas City will make its way into some lyrics. Many Chiefs-Swifties are excited about what this means for Kansas City, “I hope they get married and move to Kansas City,” said Knoflicek.
