Taylor Swift once sang “She’s Cheer Captain, and I’m on the bleachers” about a boy whose attention she couldn’t catch because she was in the bleachers of his football game. I don’t know if that is the case anymore, considering she is spending quite some time in the stands these days AND has the attention of a football player. This football player is Travis Kelce, and the new relationship between these two has been taking the media by storm over the last month.
For those of you who don’t know (and who are living under a rock), Taylor Swift is one of the largest pop stars of the century. The Pennsylvania native has notably won 12 Grammy Awards (3 of which were Album of the Year awards), 29 Billboard Music Awards, and 40 American Music Awards. She released her first album, Taylor Swift, in 2006, and since then, has held the world in a chokehold. Throughout her career, she has transitioned from country to pop and has continued to win the hearts and minds of many.
The other half of this relationship is Travis Kelce, the dominant tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. The star, from Northeast Ohio, played college football at the University of Cincinnati. After his impressive career as a Bearcat, Kelce was drafted into the NFL onto the Chiefs in 2013. Since then, he has won two Super Bowl championships, 8 Pro Bowls, and has numerous all-time tight end records.
To fully understand this relationship, let’s start back in the beginning. In July, Kelce attended the Eras Tour in Kansas City, where he wanted to give Taylor a friendship bracelet with his number on it. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful. Then, in September, Kelce was on the Pat McAfee Show and invited Taylor to come watch him play in Kansas City. Taylor returned the interest and appeared at his game a week later. Not only did she go to the game, but she sat with his mother! When Kelce traveled to NYC to play the New York Jets in early October, Taylor showed up to this game, as well as another game back in Kansas City. Since then, they have been spotted many times together acting as coupley as ever.
Ok, so now that we are all caught up, let’s discuss the controversy. Some people are thrilled with this coupling. They love the trope of the “bombshell blonde” being with the handsome star football player. These supporters could also get behind the fact that she is dating someone with much less negative press than Matty Healy, her last relationship. After all, it is not that difficult to have a better reputation than Matty Healy. On the other hand, some are nervous for Kelce due to Swift’s constant rotation of celebrity beaus and ‘boy-crazy’ reputation. To those skeptical of this relationship, they have heard too many songs about ex boyfriends, and they are not interested in hearing the ones about Travis Kelce.
Bottomline, who really cares who these superstars are dating, and I wish them all the best. I personally, however, would love a new album.