It’s 2024 and a very successful woman — one of the most successful women in the world, actually — is getting whispered about for not cheering on her boyfriend IRL.
OK, OK, so Taylor Swift missing a couple of Travis Kelce’s games isn’t quite as simple as that. When you’re dating a sports professional, there is a certain expectation that you go along, cheer, smile, hug, generally play the role of dutiful and supportive WAG.
And with these two, it goes both ways: Kelce, too, pulled off the “supportive boyfriend” thing with aplomb at multiple Eras tour dates across the world, even delighting Swifties by appearing on stage.
So, since Swift has attended quite a few Kansas City Chiefs games over the past year, it feels like they have set a precedent for showing up for each other’s professional engagements when they can. And when they don’t? All hell breaks loose and some people assume the worst. But, as Us exclusively learned earlier this week, nothing has changed. “They’re spending as much time together as possible while balancing their careers and individual responsibilities — his game and her music empire, along with personal projects,” our source said.
Exactly! Do we really want Taylor Swift to morph into a trad wife, getting up at 5am to cut her man’s sandwiches into heart shapes before slipping into her Chiefs jersey, or do we in fact, love her for being an independent woman with the X-rated feminist keychain to prove it? Swift is 34 years old, Kelce isn’t the only important thing in her life and there are numerous other things that she probably wants to do during her brief break from touring the globe.
For one, she’s just not the kind of girl who drops her friends the second she has a boyfriend, so hanging out with them is a priority. Plus, taking some much needed downtime from the public gaze (even if it’s only a day or a week!) is crucial for getting her creative juices flowing. Why should she jump on yet another flight to stand around making googly eyes in a football stadium when she could be holed up writing an amazing song that offers genuine insight into their relationship?
And if she’s not actually doing anything productive right now? That’s cool too. The Eras tour starts up again in a matter of weeks (the final run of dates kicks off in Miami on October 18) so if she’s just chilling at home, slapping on a face mask with three cats on her lap, watching new episodes of Grey’s Anatomy with nobody demanding anything from her, then it should be applauded.
If Kelce wanted to be with the kind of girl who could dutifully show up to every game, it’s fair to say that attracting one, or dozens, of hot, available options would not have been a problem. But he wanted Taylor Swift, someone as busy and successful as he is.
Plus, the thing is, when Swift does show up at Kelce’s games, it’s distracting for all concerned. Being extremely, ridiculously, unbelievably famous has many perks, but it’s also a bit of a pain in the butt for both the famous person and everyone in their universe. A megastar visit to Arrowhead Stadium means extra security, photographers everywhere, fans swarming around and supporters spending more time trying to catch a glimpse of Swift.
It’s tough for Kelce and Swift. If she’s there and he has a bad game, it’s because she distracted him. If she isn’t there and he has a bad game, it’s her fault for letting him down. But let’s not forget, this guy was playing football long before he was trying to slip fateful friendship bracelets to Swift, and he had good games and bad games then too, just like every other professional athlete on the planet. Ultimately, it’s not really her lifelong duty to be there, to grin and wave and jump up and down in official merch, it’s just fun when it happens.
Otherwise, it’s just sports. And that’s, frankly, way less interesting to a large chunk of the population than the presence of Taylor Swift. Shh, don’t tell the jocks.
