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Swift Attention

What do people think of the media’s hyper-focus on Taylor Swift this NFL season?
makaiyla+willis%2C+CC+BY+2.0+%2C+via+Wikimedia+Commons
makaiyla willis, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

​​Taylor Swift is going to the Super Bowl! After single-handedly defeating the Baltimore Ravens the 34-year-old singer-songwriter from Pennsylvania guaranteed her spot in this year’s Super Bowl.

None of this actually happened but that’s what it feels like. The media’s treatment of all things Chiefs this season makes it seem like Taylor Swift is calling the plays. This is the result of Tayor’s relationship with Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce.

The repercussions of the media’s hyper-fixation with Taylor Swift’s presence at games have been humongous. Some fans think it’s cool that it brings a lot more visibility to the sport and a lot of people who otherwise wouldn’t care are now watching to see Taylor. On the other hand, many fans aren’t happy with the feeling that the focus is on her instead of the actual game.

Travis Kelce
Jeffrey Beall, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Here at the Roadrunner, we are ready to take on really difficult topics, different from other newspapers like The Orion or SacExpress we aren’t scared of getting dirty to get the hard answers. With this said we set out on a quest to find the answer to the hot question of the moment: Does anybody care? What do people think of the focus the media is having on Taylor Swift? And if people think she should get a ring if the Chiefs do win.

“I do think that sports pages should stick to posting sports-related content. So then going overboard with Taylor Swift is annoying. We know that she is more involved with football due to her new relationship. They should simply calm down with it and stop overhyping it. I don’t care much but with other people, they could be losing interest in the games. And NO ( about her getting a ring and lifting the trophy), that’s wrong why would they even want that? That really would be stupid. However, it wouldn’t surprise me that they would want to hype up the “first female singer to hold the trophy after the Super Bowl game.” Or something” – Carlos @afanador530

“The media is all about Taylor Swift this season like she’s the star quarterback of the entertainment world. I love Taylor Swift and I think sometimes the media is too much for always putting her on the spot or always showing her to the cameras when all she wants is to have fun and support her man! Mother should be able to have fun without the crazy eyes of the media all on her all the time! And if the Chiefs come out on top, why not let Mother Taylor join the celebration and lift the trophy? It would be a touchdown moment for both music and football fans alike! Haters are going to hate but she is a star! ” -aj @ is _ajjjsar

“The focus on Taylor Swift is a bit much from a viewer standpoint, especially if you’re not a “swiftie,” Taylor Swift is huge, she has many fans, and she has brought many of her fans over to the viewing community of football. As much as I want to say they should leave her alone cause she’s a person, at the same time I can understand the attention. The NFL is a business, a business looking for viewers, the more they show Taylor Swift the better because it brings in the “swifties” to football which will bring money to the networks broadcasting. With that being said I can understand why they constantly have a camera on her. Should she lift the Lombardi Trophy? No, she did not win any games for the team. You could argue that Kelce plays better in her attendance, which is just a superstition. Mahomes and the defense won these games. She should not be involved in that action. However, she deserves some gratitude from the Chiefs owner and franchise for making the team more popular.” -Blake Webster @blakew.ebster

Paolo Villanueva, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons (Paolo PV)

 “ so what I think about T-Swift’s focus is it has its positives & negatives. it brings a lot of casual viewers (even if it’s only Chiefs games Swifties who tune into the league will still look at that & see that the ratings are going up), & could turn these casual viewers into fans of the sport. for the NFL any celebrity publicity is good publicity. the biggest negative from it however is it takes away from the games. imagine being one of the worst teams in the league and getting a huge upset over KC but the next day’s headlines are pretty much “How does T-Swift feel about this?” “Does this affect Swift’s & Kelce’s relationship” Like seeing most sports analysts even talk about Taylor instead of the actual games is head-scratching & ridiculous, leave all that for TMZ- “ – Andrew Davis, concerned student @brokeboi_drew

“Personally as a big Taylor Swift fan, I think that the focus that the media has put on Taylor is too much and honestly out of hand. I don’t see a problem with her actual attendance at the games as she is allowed to support her boyfriend and be there to cheer him on. However, the way the NFL is utilizing her and exploiting her for views and sales is where I don’t agree. For example, putting polls on the screen during the game and comparing the team/players’ stats for when she is in attendance or not or making merch that involves her without her personal permission. As to if they win, no she should not get a ring or lift the Lombardi because she is not a part of the team who worked to get to their position in the Superbowl. She is a spectator and a fan and isn’t asking for any sort of special treatment and so should not receive any in that regard.” -Mallory Ratner @malloryratner

“I’m not a Taylor Swift fan but she’s been popping off everywhere in anything her fans love her maybe the audience requested for her to be in the NFL! Chiefs should not win the winner should be and will be the 49ERS! Because we are now going to the Super Bowl! (yeah she can still lift the trophy I don’t know about the ring though lol) “- Maria @dulces._.fers

‘ Honestly, I’m not an American football fan and am a bit disconnected from social media’s input on her and her boyfriend alongside the football team so I can’t speak much about the first one. But as someone who plays team sports, that huge achievement is between the team and those who put the work into them winning. I get that Taylor Swift is… Taylor Swift but she’s been the highlight casting a shadow over those who actually worked toward this achievement. If I were in their shoes, I’d be mildly irritated… But it’s cool that she gets to share this moment with her… boyfriend(?) “- @pillsbury.pho.boy

iHeartRadioCA, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

“ I think that Taylor already had/has the spotlight so it wouldn’t be too crazy for the media to be excited about her adoration for the chief’s baby girl, Travis Kelce. But also, I think that football is football and the media does a good balance between showing literal TAYLOR SWIFT on screen and the game itself. I don’t really think it would be necessary for her to get a ring because she did not play the game or put in the effort these men did to get that ring. I do fully agree with her holding the Lombardi trophy because hell, I want to hold it too! If Taylor were to receive any sort of ring on Feb 11th, it would hopefully be an engagement ring. All jokes aside I think Taylor Swift is one of the most famous superstars in the universe and no doubt if she was at my football game I’m panning the camera to her too” – Aubryn @aubrynredmond

“I think the media has been overreacting with the whole Taylor Swift deal. Honestly, she is just another celebrity dating a famous NFL player. What’s the big deal? There are plenty of other celebrities who date famous athletes. The talk about Swift just appears to be relevant because of her fanbase. She should definitely not receive a ring. What did she do to make the Chiefs win? By dating Travis? Nah it does not work like that. I have nothing but respect for Taylor but this is just too much for us NFL fans to deal with.” – Victor Bordi @Vic_Bordin

“Well if you must know I don’t mind it because she’s bringing a lot of new fans to the NFL and I don’t think she’s taking away from the actual game and she should not get a ring or a trophy” -Tyler Wright, registered Swiftie.@tywrright

As a fan of football, I purposely don’t tune into Chiefs games because, between the Kelce Bros podcast and T Swift, it’s almost like a Keeping up with the Kardashians type of entertainment. As a 9er fan, I hope the Chiefs lose, and bad. The only ring T Swift should get is from Travis. Otherwise the less of her face we see during the game the better. I’d pay more to see a televised version that doesn’t pan to her every 15 seconds “ – @byjayare

This is it. After reading what all these amazing folks had to say you have finally arrived at the definitive answer of what people think about Taylor Swift’s involvement with the Chiefs this season. You might be a little confused about what the single answer to the question is and that’s your answer right there, there isn’t one.

The truth is Taylor Swift is iconic and her presence has brought the Chiefs and the NFL millions of dollars ( 331.5 Million to be exact).  With this being said, Taylor is at the games to watch her boyfriend play football, and the sports media using Taylor for interaction and clicks on their posts can be extremely annoying, even if you are a Swiftie.  At the end of the day, it’s just a game and not worth getting mad over, yeah sometimes it can be a lot but like Kelce himself said what matters is having fun with it.

I hope you enjoyed reading what your fellow peers think of everything that’s going on within the entertainment world and thank you to all of those who took the time to write such big and insightful responses!

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About the Contributors
Nathan Azevedo Espindula
Nathan Azevedo Espindula, Editor and Chief
Who is Nathan Espindula? Click to find out
Jackson Hutler
Jackson Hutler, Staff Writer
Hi Roadrunners, My name is Jackson Hutler and this is my second semester as a staff writer for The RoadRunner. I sometimes catch myself just drinking coffee and gazing outside, looking at the bigger picture. I let sports dictate my mood sometimes. Blasphemous is a fun word to use. Blasphemous. If you enjoy reading about absorbing current news or Sports, read my articles. The Kings are an interest of mine if you couldn’t tell. My AI statement: I dabble with AI use for my articles. I mainly use Grammarly to help me with spelling, grammar, and the structure of my articles. 

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