Taylor Swift appears happy dating football player Travis Kelce. Football fans don’t feel the same.
Singer-superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have recently been linked together as Hollywood’s newest it-couple. Football fans haven’t met Swift’s presence with a positive reception; they’ve taken to social media, twiddling their thumbs like the big, manly men they are to voice their distaste for the 12-time Grammy winner.
The vast majority of posts depicting Swift’s appearances at games spark responses like “Taylor Swift has ruined the NFL” or “is there anything more annoying than Taylor Swift at a football game?” In-person reactions are no better, as fans booed her when she appeared on the Jumbotron on Dec. 17.
The answer to why football fans are angered is simple—misogyny.
Swift is known for her success in the music industry—empowering lyricism and feminist expression which lends itself to a largely female fanbase. Though her talent precedes her, many only acknowledge her reputation of writing songs about the men she dates, and with that, implying she dates too many men.
Media depicts football as having macho, rowdy, and vastly male fanbases; it hosts tailgating and beer slinging as if they’re sports themselves. Football Sunday is supposed to be “for the boys,” after all.
The boys aren’t mad because Swift’s taking screen time from the game—let’s face it, she probably gets one to two minutes of screentime in total—they’re mad because she’s a woman.
The anger shown by NFL fans spotlights the misogyny that still exists. Women don’t need to do anything particular to be treated poorly, particularly by large groups of men. Swift didn’t pursue a vendetta against any of the fans she receives backlash from for ing her boyfriend.
After the Chiefs lost a game, one posted to X, formerly known as Twitter: “So are we going to acknowledge the Taylor Swift curse or…?” Another responded perfectly: “a whole team of men on the field and you still find a way to blame a woman in the bleachers.”
Swift isn’t hated because she’s a bad person or because her actions affected NFL games. She’s hated because she’s a woman. Football conceals misogyny by deeming itself a man’s sport—a sport that fosters a patriarchal, aggressive environment wherein women aren’t equal to men.
If it were Ryan Reynolds, the Rock, Joe Rogan, or any other male celebrity taking over the Jumbotron instead of Swift, there wouldn’t be the same dismay.
Maddie is a fourth-year sociology student and The Journal’s Senior Arts Editor.
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Ron oman
The whole thing is idiotic. Swift has made a billion off of mainly female teenagers whose parents pay a ridiculous fee for the kiddies to see her. Her music is mainly cartoon or Add jingles. No mojo. Just blah,blah. No place in pro football. Now we have to see her what seems like every other camera shot. It’s really annoying. And that’s the gripe! Fans are perfectly fine with females in pro football. Get it right