Furious NFL fans have decried the fanfare surrounding Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce and criticized NBC for too many mentions and omissions of the singer during Sunday night’s broadcast of the Jets-Chiefs game.
The online chatter surrounding their relationship reached a fever pitch on Sunday when Swift showed up at MetLife Stadium to watch Kelce play for the second week in a row.
As soon as the cameras spotted Swift in the stands, NBC host Mike Tirico said, “Oh yeah, she’s here: Taylor’s in the house,” before adding, “Hey Swifties, we’ll be with you all night.”
During the game, NBC addressed the singer seventeen different times, a move that became a constant source of frustration for those tuning in to watch Kansas City dominate against New York.
NFL fans have condemned Swift’s football “takeover,” with some saying the singer’s continued cuts in coverage are “destroying football.”
“In case anyone didn’t hear, Taylor Swift was at the game. And NBC made it really annoying,” award-winning sportswriter Jeff Pearlman wrote on Twitter.
Fox contributor Tomi Lahren wrote, “Taylor Swift’s extensive coverage of this match is annoying AF. I don’t even like football and I agree that it destroys football. Barely enough.’
And the fuss surrounding the singer was not an isolated incident for NBC: Terry Bradshaw, the co-host of Fox NFL Sunday, even gave handmade friendship bracelets from Taylor Swift to his colleagues during the live broadcast. As he handed them out, he said, “You’re part of the Swiftie group now.”
Furious NFL fans have criticized the fanfare surrounding Taylor Swift and her rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce after NBC spoke to the singer 17 different times during Sunday night’s broadcast of the Jets-Chiefs game
The most furious reaction came after the Chiefs’ first touchdown, when NBC cameras immediately caught Taylor hugging her friends.
And the furore surrounding the singer wasn’t isolated to NBC — Terry Bradshaw, the co-host of Fox NFL Sunday, even gave handmade Taylor Swift friendship bracelets to his colleagues during the live broadcast.
The most furious reaction came after the Chiefs’ first touchdown, when NBC cameras immediately spotted Taylor and her famous friends, including Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, in their suite.
Since it was Isiah Pacheco who scored the points instead of Kelce, some fans were left outraged, claiming they should have shown the players cheering on the field.
“Jersey boy Isaiah Pacheco scores a touchdown at MetLife in front of his entire family,” Andrew Natalizio wrote on Twitter.
“NBC: Cuts to Taylor Swift for some damn reason. I’m so tired of this already.’
Sports analyst Joe Pompliano wrote, “The broadcast shows Taylor Swift immediately after the Chiefs score and she hugs people to celebrate an ISIAH PACHECO touchdown. This is already getting ridiculous.’
NBC’s broadcast cut to Swift several times during the game, including a shot of the pop superstar with her arm around Kelce’s mother, Donna, who was wearing her son’s No. 87 jersey.
“Please don’t play Taylor Swift on your TV drinking game… you’re going to be hospitalized if you aren’t already,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
Another added, “These Taylor Swift cutaways during Chiefs games need to go.”
Maria Taylor, the host of NBC’s pregame show on Sunday night, had opened her monologue with a nod to Swift’s song “Enchanted,” and throughout the late-night hour, the hosts talked about fans wearing the singer’s T-shirts.
When Swift arrived at MetLife Stadium around 7:40 p.m., announcer Mike Tirico said, “Oh, and yes, she’s here: Taylor is in the house.” He then added, “Hey Swifties, we’ll be with you all night.”
Sunday night’s Jets-Chiefs game was the second in a week that Swift has dominated, after showing up at Arrowhead last Sunday to watch her husband score a touchdown in the Bears’ 41-10 rout.
In the days since, there has been a huge amount of online chatter about their relationship, reaching a fever pitch on Sunday when she showed up again to watch him play.
Furious NFL fans have criticized the fanfare surrounding Taylor Swift (pictured with Ryan Reynolds) and her rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce after NBC spoke to the singer 17 different times during Sunday night’s broadcast of the Jets-Chiefs game
Taylor Swift raises her hands during the game at MetLife Stadium while watching Travis Kelche play
NFL fans have slammed Swift’s football ‘takeover’, with some saying the singer’s constant cuts during coverage are ‘destroying football’
It’s also rumored that they spent the night together on Saturday, after Kelce was spotted returning to his hotel in Weehawken on Sunday morning.
While NFL fans are upset about the coverage of Taylor Swift during the games, the Chiefs-Bears game the singer attended last Sunday was the most-watched game of the weekend, with an average of 24.3 million fans tuning in on Fox.
It’s not clear exactly when Travis and Taylor started seeing each other, but Travis had revealed on his New Heights podcast in July that he had hoped to introduce himself to Taylor when he attended one of her Eras Tour stops.
“I wanted to give Taylor Swift (a bracelet) with my number on it,” the tight end shared, but he found that the singer’s dedication to putting on the best performance possible made it impossible to talk to her.
‘I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs she sings, so I was a bit of a pain in the ass. I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets. I made it for her,” he said.
During the latest episode of Travis’ podcast, he addressed the dating rumors.
While speaking with his brother and co-host Jason Kelce, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, he shouted at Swift and said she “looked great.”
“Shout out to Taylor for quitting,” he said. ‘That was quite rowdy.
“I just loved that everyone in the suite had only good things to say about her. The friends and family. She looked great, everyone talked about her in a great light.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce left Arrowhead together after last week’s game
‘Plus, the day went perfectly for Chiefs fans. We script it all, ladies and gentlemen. It was just impressive.
“It was certainly a match I will remember.”
Swift is on a break from her Eras Tour, which resumes on November 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. NBC played a commercial for the tour about 20 minutes before kickoff.
MetLife Stadium is a familiar venue for Swift, who performed three sold-out concerts there in May. Among those in attendance at two of those shows was Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who returned to the team this weekend after tearing his left Achilles tendon in the fourth game of his debut with New York on September 11.
Rodgers attended a team meeting Saturday night and was at the stadium watching players warm-ups from the sidelines Sunday night.
Swift’s decision to watch Kelce play last Sunday also caused Kelce jersey sales to skyrocket.
According to sportswear and fan merchandise company Fanatics, Kelce was one of the five best-selling NFL players last Sunday. He “saw a nearly 400% spike in sales across the Fanatics network of sites, including NFLShop.com,” a spokesperson said.
Sales peaked the same day Swift was spotted in Kansas City, watching the Chiefs play the Chicago Bears with Kelce’s mother, Donna, from one of the football stadium’s glass-enclosed suites.