The Swiftie’s Guide to Bandwagoning Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs

With apologies to the Miami Dolphins dropping 70 points, the Cardinals pulling the upset of the season, and everything else that actually happened on the gridiron, the biggest football story of the weekend—by a gargantuan margin—was Taylor Swift attending the Kansas City Chiefs game. She laughed, she dined (with seemingly ranch) and she cheered on her new boyfriend, Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce. Swift, always one for anniversaries, mythmaking, and coincidences that probably aren’t coincidences, was in the building 12 years to the day that her Speak Now tour made a stop in that same stadium.

This is, no hyperbole, one of the biggest pop culture moments the NFL has had in the social media age, maybe the biggest. Thousands upon thousands of Swifties are now flocking to Chiefs-related content, both to perform their usual brand of numerology and detective work and to figure out just who the hell this guy is. The basics: Kelce is probably the second-best tight end ever, behind the inimitable Rob Gronkowski. Paired with Patrick Mahomes, Kelce has helped the Chiefs become the NFL’s golden boys of the last five years. He has two Super Bowl rings to show for it. The Chiefs are, once again, excellent this year. Good on Kelce for having the foresight to specifically invite Swift to their game against the Chicago Bears, which pitted a top-tier team against a downright unwatchable one, leading to an easy 41-10 victory for the home team. Kelce also found the end zone for the 74th time in his illustrious career, meaning Swift was on hand to see him tie Jason Witten for fifth-most scores by a tight end.

All of that is to say, Kelce and the Chiefs are very good. They are perhaps the easiest bandwagon team in the entire league. If this relationship (situationship?) endures, Swift stands to see a lot more touchdowns and victories. For the Swifties who want to embark on this journey with her, there are some important things to know. First and foremost, pace yourself. The Chiefs are just three games through a 17-game schedule, and all that really matters for them is the playoffs. Before they reach that point, the big question marks are whether they have enough playmakers outside of Kelce to consistently move the ball, and if the defense can hold up over an entire season. For Swift, one lurking question is what to do if the Chiefs meet her hometown Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, in a rematch of last year’s game.

The woman grew up in Pennsylvania, famously sang about her Eagles t-shirt hanging from the door and wore an Eagles jersey during a 2011 show. During her most recent tour, the record-setting Eras extravaganza, Swift made her allegiances even clearer. “I saw some people wondering if it was the band the Eagles or the team the Eagles,” she said, referring to the t-shirt lyric. “I love the band the Eagles, but guys, come on. I’m from Philly. Of course it’s the team.”

Interesting! The heart wants what the heart wants, and we’re certainly not against rooting for multiple teams, but this creates some intrigue. Travis’ brother Jason—himself a very accomplished, albeit less famous player—plays center for the Eagles. Perhaps he feels betrayed by the famous pop star donning Chiefs gear and screaming with glee for his younger bro, perhaps he wishes he could have also been in on the conversations between Swift and his mother, Donna, perhaps he doesn’t care about any of this at all.

What we do know is that a Chiefs-Eagles rerun at this year’s Super Bowl would be the best matchup not just for the Kelce family, but for the entire Swiftie community. As for Travis, his life is obviously about to change beyond his wildest dreams. His teammates are getting in on the fun, as is his coach, but things are going to reach an entirely new level immediately. Every outfit, every postgame facial expression, every step he takes, really, will be analyzed to the umpteenth degree. Chiefs bandwagoners should know that Kelce has dated celebrities before, but nobody on this level. He briefly had his own dating show—and dated Maya Benberry, the winner of said show, after production wrapped—but also was with sports personality and model Kayla Nicole for five years.

This fling with Swift, meanwhile, got off to an inauspicious start. Kelce went to Swift’s Kansas City show back in July, and told the story of what happened on his own podcast. Apparently, Kelce thought he could use his status with the Chiefs to just waltz right up to Swift and shoot his shot before she took the stage. He knew the Swift lore, wisely, and brought her the type of homemade bracelet that are a common sight at her shows. This one, though, had his phone number on it. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of rizz and men often go awry. Swift was unable to meet Kelce before that show, citing the fact that she had to, you know, perform the concert.

Kelce has offered other insights into his dating life as well, particularly the idea that he doesn’t love a superiority complex. “High maintenance, I’m out the door,” Kelce said on Kristin Cavallari’s podcast. “You got to have some sort of sweetness to you. If you’re arrogant or you think you’re snooty or just higher above people, that’s the biggest turn off for me.” If hanging out with his mom—a classic Swift play—is any indication, Swift doesn’t think she’s too good for a salt-of-the-earth Midwestern Sunday spent watching football. We can’t predict what’s in store for these crazy kids, but it seems like everyone involved is having fun, and if a kajillion more people are going to tune into one team every weekend to learn about Taylor Swift’s paramour, there are absolutely worse teams than the Chiefs. Just be careful about doing the Tomahawk Chop, the problematic rallying cry that has an unfortunate chokehold on their fans.