Just Person of the Year for 2023 there is a familiar name for football fans: Taylor Swift.
In an interview for the magazine’s annual awards, the global pop star discussed his relationship with Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce and the reality of being such a prominent figure at his games.
“I’m just there to support Travis,” Swift told Time. “I’m not aware if I’m being shown too much and I’m upsetting a few dads, Brads and Chads.”
Swift’s frequent appearances on NFL broadcasts began in September, when she gave her dedicated “Swifties” long-awaited proof of her romantic relationship with Kelce by attending his team’s Week 3 victory over the Chicago Bears. After enjoying the win with Kelce’s mother Donna, Swift was seen leaving the stadium with the eight-time Pro Bowler.
She and Kelce had apparently been seeing each other for months at this point.
“When I went to that first game, we were a couple,” Swift said. “I think some people think they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to start a first date hard.”
Since then, the novelty of Swift’s presence hasn’t seemed to fully wear off for the production crews. Her handshake with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany, aired on CBS during a win over the Los Angeles Chargers in October. Swift made a trip to Lambeau Field on Sunday as the Chiefs lost to the Green Pay Packers, their first loss in their tenure. NBC’s cameras panned on them before the game, excitedly announcing their presence.
“I don’t know how they know which suite I’m in,” she told Time. “There’s a camera half a mile away and you don’t know where it is and you have no idea when the camera will put you on the show, so I don’t know if I’m going to be shown 17 times or once.”
While the broadcasts are under Swift’s control, even Kelce felt in October that the NFL was “overreaching.” Based on the 12-time Grammy Award winner’s recent comments, it seems like the attention isn’t an issue for either her or Kelce.
“I’m going to see him doing what he loves, we stand up for each other, other people are there and we don’t care,” Swift said. “The opposite of that is that you have to go to one.” We went to extreme lengths to make sure no one knew we were meeting someone. And we’re just proud of each other.”
Swift’s passionate fan base has been a driving force behind Kelce’s growing social media following and skyrocketing jersey sales. However, the NFL’s popularity among women was already at a good level despite the league’s less successful targeting efforts toward this demographic.
“Football is great, it turns out,” Swift said jokingly. “I’ve been missing out my whole life.”
Die Zeit has named a Person of the Year since 1927. Swift is the one first musician to claim this title. She will be joined by 2023 Sportsman of the Year, Lionel Messi, who became the first men’s footballer to win this award.
