While thousands of Swifties attended early screenings of the Eras Tour film, Taylor Swift was in a box at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, watching her probably-boyfriend Travis Kelce play his best game of the season against the Denver Broncos. The Chiefs tight end didn’t score a touchdown during the October 12 showdown, but he did put up a season-high 126 receiving yards, including a 40-yard reception.
Swift has become a fast Chiefs fan in recent weeks, also watching Kelce and his team win against the Chicago Bears and the New York Jets after he invited her “to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead.” (He had already caught an Eras Tour stop in Kansas City this summer, and reportedly plans to spend his bye week watching Swift perform in Argentina.) Whether you think her relationship with Kelce is endgame or just a PR trick play, though, it’s worth asking: Is Swift a good-luck charm for Kelce and the Chiefs?
Kelce has played five games so far this year after missing the season opener against the Detroit Lions with a knee injury. (He had a bit of a cruel summer.) That also includes two games Swift didn’t attend, against the Jacksonville Jaguars in week two and Minnesota Vikings in week five. We’re now a third of the way through the season, and that gives us a pretty good sample size to work with. Because if there are two types of people who’ll find patterns anywhere, it’s sports fans and Swifties.
Without Swift in the Bleachers
The Kelce-Swift rumors had started by the time Kelce joined the Chiefs in Jacksonville, but the singer wasn’t in attendance. There, Kelce caught just four passes for 26 yards, lower than nearly every game of his previous season. Sure, he could’ve been shaking off some rust after the offseason and knee injury — but he also could’ve been thinking about the Swift-size blank space in the crowd.
Fast-forward a few weeks, and not even Kelce could convince Swift to make the trek to Minnesota for the Chiefs’ game against the Vikings. Once again, he seemed worse off for it. Kelce’s receptions may have been up at ten (including a touchdown), but he didn’t quite shimmer — he only averaged 6.7 yards per catch, not far off from his 6.5 yards per catch against Jacksonville game. But here’s the kicker: Kelce injured his ankle on Minnesota’s turf toward the end of the second quarter, forcing him out of the game for a bit. Was it just a coincidence that he didn’t have his lover there supporting him?
With Swift in the Bleachers
Kelce’s first two games with Swift, against the Bears and Jets were a massive improvement on his previous outing in Jacksonville. He logged seven catches for 69 yards against the Bears and six for 60 yards against the Jets, amounting to a remarkably consistent ten yards per reception in each game. Kelce even caught a touchdown pass during the Bears contest — one thing we can definitely credit to Swift, after quarterback Patrick Mahomes said he felt “pressure” to give his buddy a score with her watching.
Now, back to that Broncos game. Kelce didn’t just nearly double his yardage from the previous Vikings game — he put up more yards than he did in any game of last season. And he did it against a Denver defense that gave the rest of the Chiefs their share of problems. Maybe Kelce just had a fire under him to bounce back after that Minnesota injury. Maybe the six-foot-five tight end matched up better against the defense than the Chiefs’ other receivers. Or maybe it was because Swift was back (stronger than a ’90s trend, if you will), cheering him on with her new friends, Brittany Mahomes and Donna Kelce.
Before the Broncos game, Kelce told Thursday Night Football’s Taylor Rooks he welcomes the attention from his relationship. “I love the chaos, knowing that everybody’s looking at the Kansas City Chiefs,” he said. He did add that he’s able to “shut off what’s going on outside the building” when it comes to his relationship — but it sure seems like when Swift is in the building, something changes.
Now, this weekend, the Chiefs head to Los Angeles to play their division rival, the Los Angeles Chargers. Kansas City may be the 5.5-point favorite in every sportsbook after L.A.’s ugly loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, but as far as the kind of night Kelce’s going to have, all bets might as well be off until we see Swift beaming down from the Chiefs’ box.
