If you’ve been online in the last few months, you know Taylor Swift has been to multiple National Football League games and has heard about her rumored romance with Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Travis Kelce.
Swift being at the Kansas City Chiefs game on Sept. 24 at Arrowhead Stadium was all over social media channels. The NFL official accounts even changed its social media biography and X, formally known as Twitter, header. Her being at the game brought in additional revenue and views for the league.
While the NFL has milked the opportunity to showcase Swift at games, it has been silent on the multiple lewd and misogynistic comments made towards Swift.
In October, a Barstool podcast host made perceived sexist and rude comments on how he feels entitled to Swift’s body and discussed her private sex life crudely because she is now a “regular” at NFL games.
“If Taylor Swift is going to be taking over our Sundays I’m going to need to see a sex tape,” host Dan Katz wrote on X. “These are my demands.”
Being under media scrutiny, especially for her dating life is not new to Swift.
During the original 1989 era, she was constantly under media scrutiny for her dating life and multiple songs in her discography have taken a dig at the narrative that she is a serial dater.
The way men feel entitled to speak about Swift in such a cruel and unwarranted way shows that while we as a society want to show we have progressed, that is not the case.
Misogyny still runs rampant when it comes to women in pop culture. Swift continues to be scrutinized while the league makes money off her appearances.
The Swift and Kelce romance rumor spread like wildfire, multiple brands used her appearance as a way to promote their stuff. In fact, UH Dining posted about Swift and Kelce.
During the Chief’s game against the Chicago Bears, the NFL saw a hike in viewership. Almost 24.32 million viewers tuned in for the game, with the highest rates among female demographics across the ages of 12-17 and 18-49, according to Variety.
On Oct. 1, when the Cheifs played the New York Jets, Swift was in attendance. It became the second most-watched NFL game, with 27 million viewers, according to NBC.
Kelce also saw a spike of almost a spike in 400% of his jersey sales, according to ESPN.
The “Swift-Effect” has made the league money and grew the game to a new audience. Where Swift goes, Swifties follow. Many TikTok content creators who run a fan page dedicated to Swift started making football explainers for those who may be unaware of the game.
During this time, a TikTok trend, on how Swift put Kelce “on the map,” has gotten popular. This did not bode well with many male NFL fans. The reactions ranged from being offended by this statement to outright outraged that someone — a Swiftie — could ever say this.
Objectively, while Kelce is a popular football player, the NFL is an American league. Outside the U.S., American football is niche. Outside of football, many people would be unaware of who Kelce is.
Swift on the other hand is one of the most popular celebrities of this generation. She is currently on her record-breaking Eras Tour. It is not a crazy assumption that Swift may have led to Kelce becoming well-known. She did, in a way, “put him on the map.”
While some people took offense to this Kelce loved it.
But this goes beyond just being offended by a joke. Swift and her fans should not be disrespected for just existing in a space that is historically been regarded as male-dominated.
It is quite evident that the “Swift-effect” has helped the league grow and generate more money. In return, it has only led to additional media scrutiny for Swift and an increase in misogynistic comments made about her.
Recent Comments