Sunday afternoon’s presentation of “America’s Game of the Week” on FOX Sports was a pivotal matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears with significant early season implications in the standings. While the quarterback matchup of Patrick Mahomes against Justin Fields was responsible for much of the buzz leading up to the National Football League (NFL) game, the attention quickly shifted when one of the country’s most notorious superstars showed up to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to take in the action.
Taylor Swift, while in the midst of her worldwide tour that has reportedly grossed over $2 billion in the United States alone, was present at the game after rumored interactions with Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce. Last week on The Pat McAfee Show, Kelce revealed that he extended an invitation to her to watch him “rock the stage” at Arrowhead Stadium, similar to what he did when she played the venue in July.
Swift took in the contest from Travis Kelce’s suite and was enthusiastic when Kelce was announced on the field and scored a touchdown to make it a 40-0 ballgame. After the game, the duo was recorded leaving the stadium together in a convertible and drove around Kansas City alone. While it has not been confirmed whether or not they are officially dating, many football and Swift fans assume that there is indeed a romantic relationship, or perhaps one is imminent.
Kansas City sports radio host Bob Fescoe received word that Swift would be at the game several hours before kickoff, incredulous that the sourced report was genuine. Throughout the contest, much of the attention was focused on Swift, with infatuated fans recording the suite and plenty of photographers trying to catch a glimpse of the 12-time Grammy Award-winning superstar.
“This has become a big ruse; this has become a big joke,” Fescoe remembered thinking after learning of her arrival. “Lo and behold, Taylor Swift ended up being at the football game yesterday.”
Josh Klingler, who works on Chiefs radio broadcasts as the sideline reporter, was on the air when word of Swift’s presence began circulating and precipitously recognized the palpable buzz surrounding the superstar. In the moment, he chose to stay the course and proceeded to search the dates for “The Eras Tour” during a commercial break to see if it was indeed possible that she would show up. Sure enough, Swift emerged on the suite level and took in the entirety of the Chiefs’ 41-10 win over the Bears, dominating part of the media coverage because of her whereabouts.
“I text somebody else that I know is at Arrowhead that’s on the suite level and I said, ‘Is Taylor Swift there today?,’” Fescoe said Monday morning on 610 Sports Radio. “The response back was one of the funniest I’ve ever received. They go, ‘I don’t know what’s going on, but on every level, everybody is standing outside the elevator with their phones up hoping the door opens and Taylor Swift walks out.’”
Since Swift was attending a game, there was an increased police and security presence at the stadium to ensure her safety. The Chiefs visit MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. to face the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football for their Week 4 matchup, and being that Swift keeps a residence in the “Big Apple,” there is a chance she shows up for the game. Kelce, along with Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, have propelled the team into a new level of prominence and prestige and are the center of attention in the worlds of sports and pop culture.
“Just think about what happened yesterday, guys,” Fescoe said. “We had Taylor Swift show up [and] Derek Jeter interviewing Patrick Mahomes for the FOX pregame show. The Chiefs are the most popular entertainment option in this country right now. It’s the modern-day version of The Beatles, and I don’t know what The Beatles were like because I wasn’t alive, but you hear about it all the time.”
Football insiders, in addition to reporting on the Chiefs-Bears game, were trying to unearth more information about Swift choosing to attend the matchup. KTRH 740 AM Houston reporter Cliff Saunders posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he did not understand why all of the attention was diverted to Swift rather than the football game at hand. In fact, he called the curiosity of insiders “embarrassing,” leading Fescoe to respond to the assertion on the air.
“No it’s not,” Fescoe said. “She is the most popular person in the world, and she was at an NFL game yesterday to see Travis Kelce catch a touchdown pass.”
