If you’re a fan of the NFL, it is safe to assume you have heard Taylor Swift’s name a lot over the last three weeks. The relationship between the Grammy winner and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, has been well-documented. What started as Kelce reaching out to connect with the pop star has turned into a story that has consumed the football world.
Over the last two weeks, Swift has accepted Kelce’s offer to join him for a game and has been in attendance with some of the Kelce family to root Travis on. While those matchups turned into the who’s who of sporting events now that Swift was involved, one may wonder if Swift would be in attendance today for the Chiefs vs. Vikings game.
Is Taylor Swift at the Chiefs Game Today?
While it had been widespread and known information that the star would be in the building the past several weeks, there had been no such declaration leading up to the game as to whether Swift would be at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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Because we didn’t know for certain, the assumption was that she wouldn’t be there, as nothing involving Swift has been quiet to this point. Those assumptions turned out to be correct when, toward the end of the first quarter, NFL Network’s Scott Hanson confirmed on the Red Zone Channel that Swift was not in attendance.
This likely led to tens of thousands of Swifties being a bit disappointed, as chatter on social media was around tuning into the game just to get a glimpse of Swift.
Swifties waiting for a Taylor Swift appearance at the #Chiefs–#Vikings game pic.twitter.com/iIUZeCeH7Y
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) October 8, 2023
Before the game, speculation reached high levels within the state government in Minnesota as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey spoke to TMZ earlier in the week regarding the possibility of her appearance.
“If Taylor chooses to come back to Minneapolis this weekend, we’ll be ready for it. It’s possible she will have to console Travis Kelce after the Vikings beat the Chiefs, but there are plenty of great spots across town for them to go on a date and lift their spirits!”
Swift/Kelce mania has reached epic proportions of silliness and attention, and the NFL and the hosting cities cannot get enough of it.
The Swift Effect on Social Media
Since the start of the duo being linked together, Kelce has seen his social media presence skyrocket. The attention he is receiving stretches far beyond just the football world now, and he is seeing the true effects of what dating a global sensation is like.
Per Brendan Kaminsky, founder of bknown, Kelce gained over 330,000 Instagram followers. The next closest? His brother, Jason Kelce, has more than 115,000 new followers. Then, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes with more than 48,000. No other NFL player has over 37,000 new Instagram followers in that timeframe.
This data was collected by bknown via CrowdTangle — and after reviewing the data, Kaminsky was blown away.
“From all my years, I can never remember seeing something that is this big and magnified for so long,” Kaminsky told FOX Sports. “Sometimes what happens is you’ll get a big spike, it lasts in the news cycle for a few days or a week, then it kind of moves on. This one’s been festering for two weeks. And every time Taylor Swift goes to the game, it just continues. … I can say that I’ve never seen a phenomenon this large.”
None of this matters on the field, of course, and while it neither hurts nor helps Kelce play better on the field, it may help him off of it when it comes to endorsements and other opportunities.