The Baltimore Ravens, seeking to make their first Super Bowl since the 2012 season, fell short in the AFC Championship Game to the Kansas City Chiefs, ending their exciting 2023 campaign. Throughout the contest, the Ravens took several penalties, which the Chiefs took full advantage of in order to win the contest. The team has earned a spot in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years, including head coach Andy Reid, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. Award-winning singer and songwriter Taylor Swift was on hand to watch the game as well.
While there are certainly a variety of reasons why the Chiefs lost the game, some football fans believe that the outcome was fixed beforehand. Throughout the year, there have been rumors and speculation surrounding a ‘script’ for the NFL season, implying that everything is predetermined beforehand. Although evidence for such is essentially nonexistent, the theory continues to have steam and was the focus of an advertising campaign by the league earlier in the year.
Nonetheless, Las Vegas will host the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Feb. 11 for Super Bowl LVIII, and it could feature award-winning singer/songwriter Taylor Swift. Throughout the season, Swift has been attending Chiefs games to support Kelce, her boyfriend since last summer, between performances for her Eras Tour, which has grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
Swift has a performance scheduled in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, Feb. 10, but thanks to the 17-hour timezone difference, she would be able to make the championship game the next day regardless. Reacting to the Ravens’ loss on 105.7 The Fan on Monday morning, one fan called in to express his mindset throughout the game knowing of this possibility.
“When I found out the Ravens were playing the Chiefs, I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, they want Taylor Swift to go to the Super Bowl,’ right?,” the caller said. “So I paid extra attention to the referees, and I think calls went both ways.”
Ed Norris, co-host of The Big Bad Morning Show on 105.7 The Fan, asked the caller if he was aware of Swift’s schedule, to which he replied that he was. Norris was subsequently informed by one of his colleagues about the time zone difference and how she could still be at the game. Sources told NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport that Swift is expected to be at the Super Bowl despite her schedule.
“I’m not saying she can’t make it work,” Norris explained. “I’m not saying that – but she’s on tour in Japan.”
During the game on Sunday, CBS showed footage of Swift cheering on Kelce and the Chiefs from a suite at the stadium. Within the on-field celebration, the couple embraced shortly before the team accepted the Lamar Hunt Trophy as champions of the AFC. Swift, however, seemed perturbed with her being on camera as evinced by an in-game reaction amid a promo for the Grammy Awards.
“I could have sworn one time when they had her on camera, [she] said, ‘Please take it off,’” added co-host Rob Long. “She’s not asking for this; it ain’t her fault. She’s just there trying to enjoy a damn game.”
The program concluded that there were many other mishaps by the Ravens throughout the game that caused them to fall short of a Super Bowl appearance. While there were several callers optimistic about the team’s future, others were disappointed that Baltimore would not be representing the AFC for the championship game. With the forthcoming Super Bowl, there is significant discussion surrounding celebrities that could be in attendance to watch the game. Last year’s contest, televised on FOX Sports, reached over 115 million viewers across multiple platforms and was the most-watched television program in the history of the United States.
