UPDATE: 8 p.m. EDT — Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” played in the stadium following the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ winning streak. The lost to the Denver Broncos, 9-24.
Original story:
Taylor Swift was not spotted in the stadium to cheer on Travis Kelce as the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and his team faced the Denver Broncos for the second time this season.
Shortly after the game started, announcers noted that Swift, 33, had not been seen at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver on Sunday, October 29.
A source previously explained that the singer had no plans to be at every game. “Taylor doesn’t want to be a distraction to Travis,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month. “She knows it’s not easy when she shows up to his games. It’s a spectacle. She wants to support him and strike a balance while, at the same time, not be distracting to the team.”
Despite her absence, the Grammy winner was still a topic of discussion. The commentators went on to note how Kelce’s performance had improved with Swift in the audience. Swift made her first appearance at a Chiefs game on September 24, and the team has been on a winning streak ever since.
“Taylor was in attendance and it’s turning out it was good she was in attendance because they put your stats up — when she’s at the game, when she is not at the game. I don’t know if you’re aware of this,” Jason, 35, said during the Wednesday, October 25, episode of the siblings’ podcast, referring to Swift’s presence at the October 22 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Travis then responded, “How could I not be aware of this?”
Jason subsequently called out Travis’ stats, which went viral when CBS displayed them on air during the game. “When TSwift is at the game, you are averaging 99 yards,” the Philadelphia Eagles center noted. “And when you are left with only your friends and remaining family there, you are at 46.5 yards a game.”
Travis ultimately made light of the graphic, which featured a nod to Swift’s 2022 hit “Anti-Hero.” He quipped, “‘Left to his own devices.’ Well put.”
Swift has not yet traveled for an away game, though she previously attended one when the Chiefs bested the New York Jets on October 1, making the short trip to East Rutherford, New Jersey, from her home in nearby New York City.
While Swift has only watched four games in person thus far, she has already seen Kelce take on the Broncos this season. Earlier this month, she was in the stands at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, when the Chiefs won their October 12 game against the Denver-based team. Her interaction with Kelce’s father, Ed Kelce, during the match made headlines at the time, with Travis and his brother, Jason Kelce, later joking about it on their “New Heights” podcast.
“If you know Dad like I know Dad,” Travis said during the October 18 episode, to which Jason replied, “He shouldn’t be talking to Taylor Swift.”
Travis added that it was “terrifying” to imagine Swift’s conversation with his dad, quipping, “I feel terrible for Taylor.”
Despite Travis’ hesitations about his father’s interactions with Swift, the pair seemed to hit it off. “I’ll tell you something very special that I noticed about Taylor the first time I met her,” Ed told People in an interview published on Monday, October 23. “We’re sitting in the suite, she gets up and in the front room, she gets up to go get a drink or something and she starts picking up empty bottles, cans, plates that are scattered around.”
The gesture left Ed with a great first impression of Swift. “Because in the suites everybody gets stuff and you empty it down wherever you can,” he continued. “And I’m just thinking, I don’t think she got the diva memo. She didn’t get the spoiled musician. She doesn’t know how to pull that off. And that really, to me, said a whole lot.”