After Ben Sinnot scored his first career NFL touchdown, his Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator said, “It was his first pass catch and touchdown in the league. The play was called 'Taylor Swift,' so it doesn't get any better than that.” it could have happened to him at the beginning of his career,” said Kliff Kingsbury. “He was delighted with it. He's getting better and better. He's a huge talent.”
Kingsbury revealed that the team had been practicing this play for three weeks and now decided to use it in the match against the Carolina Panthers, which ended with a high victory for the Commanders 40:7.
Taylor Swift appeared in the stands, women loved football
As you can see in this example, the famous singer appears in the NFL league in a new form. He is no longer just the “mascot” of the champions: Kansas City Chiefs. It was on their stands that she appeared for the first time a year ago, causing a huge sensation. The NFL immediately took advantage of the opportunity to expand its fan base, although the richest league in the world does not have to complain about the number of fans. 72 percent of American adults describe themselves as football fans.
After Taylor Swift appeared in the stands, this crowd grew even larger. Especially among young women. According to research by YouGov, since the end of September 2023, when the singer first appeared at a Chiefs game, the number of female NFL fans has increased by 4 million. Sales of T-shirts and other league-related gadgets reached record levels.
But the Swift effect has spilled over beyond the NFL. Numerous teams in other sports, using the example of the football league, have seen how they can attract additional fans to the stands, promising them not only sports emotions, but also additional fun while listening to pop songs.
A band from Kansas City has changed its name to Taylor Swift
Numerous sports teams organized Eras evenings, which was a clear reference to the star's recent Eras Tour. Others hosted themed games featuring Swift songs and raffles for multi-thousand-dollar tickets to her concerts. One minor league baseball team even changed its name to the Kansas Swiftie Monarchs (formerly the Kansas City Monarchs) for one day and attracted 5,000 people to the stadium. viewers: twice as much as the average for their matches. Two tickets to the star's concert were drawn among those present.
The NFL has already done a lot to attract women to the stands. And she could boast of great success in her endeavors. The number of fans in the stands and in front of the screens was much higher than in other sports. According to research, as many as 46 percent of NFL fans are women.
“The missing piece was really women 35 and younger — which is exactly in line with Taylor Swift's fan base,” Carrie Potter, a Rice University lecturer and sports finance expert, tells business magazine Sportico. “Not only are the statistics consistent in terms of the demographic that the NFL can target, but also that women have serious purchasing power.”
Travis Kelce invited Taylor Swift to the stands and it started
Swift appeared in the Chiefs stands at the invitation of Travis Kelce. The Kansas City tight end was a Swift fan and attended her concert at Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs also play. There he tried to give her a handmade bracelet with his number. However, he failed. Eventually, however, he was introduced to the star a month later, and that's when he invited her to a game: “I told her, you know, I've seen you rocking out on the Arrowhead stage, maybe you'd like to see me rocking out at the Arrowhead and see him get a little more lit.” “.
When Swift sat in the booth next to Travis' mother, Donna Kelce, they weren't a couple yet. But then the singer and the football player started dating and became a couple. He attended her concerts whenever he could. She, however, went to his matches. To attend the Super Bowl, in which the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, Swift flew to Las Vegas straight from a concert in Tokyo. When the singer wasn't at the last Chiefs game, she changed the lyrics to her song “Karma” and sang in Miami: “Karma is that Chiefs guy, he's coming straight to my house.”
On the occasion of Swift's appearance in the Chiefs stands, there were also conspiracy theories. There were those who suspected that Taylor and Travis' relationship was a creation of marketers intended to benefit both parties. On the one hand, promote the Eras Tour among NFL fans, and on the other hand, gain new fans for the league among Swift fans.
Travis and Taylor are still together. Conspiracy theories have collapsed
A year after Swift's first appearance at the stadium, Travis and Taylor are still together. And the fans who, thanks to her, appeared in the stands and in front of the screens to watch the matches are still there.
Thanks to Swift, Kelce gained hundreds of thousands of new fans. Sales of his T-shirt suddenly increased by 400 percent. “She's really interested in football and asks a lot of probing questions. She's already drawing plays, so we might have to implement one,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes joked about Swift in a preseason interview with NBC.
The NFL champions started the season great. They won six games and are the only undefeated team in the 32-team league. However, Kelce, who turned 35 on October 5, is having the worst season of his career. He has yet to score a touchdown and his average yards per game is just 40.8. He's never had such low stats before.