Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor
Taylor Swift is no stranger to rumors and speculation surrounding her extensive love life. No one among the Swifties — the name given to fans of Swift — is unaware of fans who ship Swift with her exes, friends and other celebrities. One of her newest vault tracks, titled “Slut!,” even speaks on speculation towards her relationships with her friends.
Her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs’ Tight End, Travis Kelce, is currently taking the media, and Swifties, by storm.
In his podcast with brother, Jason, Kelce revealed he had tried to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his number on it at her July 6 show, but was “butthurt” he had been unable to do so. Almost two months later, The Messenger reported that Swift and Kelce had been hanging out on the down low. A week after this report, Swift attended Kansas City’s game at Arrowhead Stadium against the Chicago Bears — a game they won 41–10.
Since then, Swift has been seen attending other Kansas City games — sitting with Kelce’s mom, Donna, and families of Kelce’s teammates. Swift and Kelce have also been spotted leaving Arrowhead Stadium together as well as at several prominent functions.
However, this relationship, not unlike Swift’s past albums, has been met with mixed reviews.
Fans of Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL, have launched a slew of complaints, taunts and hate messages at fans of Swift, with many arousing the chant: “Kanye made her famous.”
Fans have been recorded yelling at their televisions whenever Swift appears or upset that their girlfriends are now watching the games with them. Many have complained of “women invading a man’s space where they don’t belong.”
Swifties, on the other hand, have been dissecting the fledgling relationship, or as they call it, finding the invisible string — a reference to a song from her album “Folklore.”
One example Swifties often bring up is how Swift and Kelce both have their signature archer poses — Kelce performing after he scores in the game and Swift when she performs her iconic song “The Archer.” Many fans say the stars align because of Kelce’s birthday; a date shared with Swift’s grandmother, Marjorie.
Others include lyrics from her songs “Daylight” and “Cornelia Street,” where she sings of her perception of love — “I once believed love would be burning red / But it’s golden like daylight” — and how all roads lead to Arrowhead Stadium: “As if the streetlights pointed in an arrowhead, leading us home.”
Swifties often point to these two occurrences when referencing the colors of the Kansas City Chiefs and the stadium in which they play.
The most favorite among Swifties is the iconic numbers of the couple, 87 and 13 which equal a nice and even 100.
Whether a fan of Taylor Swift or Travis Kelce, there is no denying that they are the current It couple of celebrities, and we will see if Swift’s newest romance ends in the manner of “Call It What You Want” or “champagne problems.”
Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu
