![[One-sentence description of what this media is: "A photo of a vaccine site on USC campus" or "Gif of dancing banana". Important for accessibility/people who use screen readers.]](https://uscannenberg-uscannenberg-prod.web.arc-cdn.net/resizer/v2/2YZ2U7VIMZCUVK6X6CBHVRW4AA.jpg?smart=true&auth=e5637caddcbcee30afb00fb59bcc9f4dbdff40531b124ef0e5cd6eac486065c1&width=1521&height=855)
This weekend, the NFL discovered a whole new fanbase from one of the most unlikely places: diehard Swifties.
Announcer: Because Taylor Swift is in the box. She is there whatever that means.
Taylor Swift was there to cheer on her potential new flame, Kansas City Chiefs star Tight End Travis Kelce when he scored a touchdown midway through the third quarter on Sunday, in a destructive win over the Chicago Bears.
This moment blew up online. Taylor Swift’s dedicated fanbase or “swifties” are showing tons of support for this new potential power couple. Some people seem to think loyal football fans will not be too fond of the Swiftie invasion taking place in football while others think this is a real touchdown for the NFL.
Football is a business with a foundation in fan sales. Since Swift attended the game, sales of Travis Kelce’s jersey have risen more than 400%.
Marty Estrin, a junior studying computer science and business, is convinced the people to spot in these jerseys are Swifites hopping on the Chiefs’ band wagon.
Marty Estrin: Well, it certainly brings in a whole new cohort into football. People who otherwise wouldn’t be interested in it are now interested. I suspect that diehard football fans might resent this and see these fans not as genuine football fans, but rather still, you know, Swifties.
This increase in sales shows just how much pop culture can sway a fan base. Freshman Maggie Bell, undeclared social sciences major, won’t be purchasing her red and yellow jersey.
Maggie Bell: I wouldn’t buy a jersey, because I’m not a big Taylor Swift fan. But I do think that diehard Swifties would buy jerseys.
Hanna Baron, a sophomore studying public relations, and lacrosse player, speaks for the athletes.
Hannah Baron: I think football fans will be receptive. I think Taylor has a lot of fans in her fan base from around the world and I think she’s going to add a lot of diehard football athletes like to people that are like her fan base.
Not surprisingly, television ratings increased in female viewers ranging from 12-17 years old. Anna Taylor, freshman and journalism major, brings up a good point. Are the females watching for the game, Swift, or do they have the “hots” for Kelce?
Anna Taylor: I think loyal fans are really excited about this because it seems that Travis is like very excited to be public with Taylor, and her last relationship was very private and it not received a lot of criticism from fans. So I think fans are excited. Also, the fact that he’s a very public figure and a lot of girls think he’s attractive. So I think people are very excited about it.
Swift’s appearance drew in just over 24 million viewers to the game last weekend. Jackson Crawford, a senior studying business exclaims that his girlfriend was certainly cheering on this couple.
Jackson Crawford: I did text her about it and she didn’t believe me at first. And then she flipped on the TV and saw it and was like, okay, you weren’t kidding. So I do think it will draw more people, but it’s definitely all the rage right now.
The question is will Travis be the next lover featured on another break through Swift Album?
Estrin is positive the relationship might last.
Estrin: If the relationship doesn’t end well, that doesn’t bode well for the NFL, the Chiefs or Travis Kelce. But assuming maybe that maybe she’ll end up writing a song about him, but assuming it goes well in the future, I think we’ll see a lot of Chiefs fans, a lot of new Chiefs since coming from the Taylor Swift groupies.
Miles Stoddard, senior and electrical engineer major, fears a breakup might be a penalty for the NFL.
MILES STODDARD: They’ll probably they might be anti football after if Travis Kelce breaks Taylor Swift’s heart and there’s a there’s a dangerous song about it that could be negative for female viewership on NFL.
In the words of Taylor Swift, do people need to calm down? Or is this greater than her dating the boy on the football team? We will see how this season pans out for the Kansas City Chiefs.