The Misinformation About Taylor Swift, Usher, and the Football: What Happened When Taylor Swift appeared at a Super Bowl Game?
Misinformation and misinformation are not good. False tweets that go viral, government conspiracy theories, lies about vaccines—these are all huge problems online, and they’re poised to get worse thanks to generative AI. There are some exceptions. The best of these came to light over the weekend when Taylor Swift showed up at a Kansas City Chiefs game. Sports internet and Swiftie internet promptly collided—and collapsed into chaos.
Like many Swifties, Kelce brought a friendship bracelet to the show — but he also put his phone number on it. He tried, but failed, to get it to Swift. It seems a breakthrough came after Kelce talked about his attempt to contact Swift on the podcast he hosts with his brother (Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce).
There is a conspiracy theory about Swift announcing that she would be screening her concert film in more than 100 countries starting in October and that tickets would be on sale. Perhaps some football fans might be inclined to buy one now?
There are a couple of Super Bowl theories here. There is a rumor that the league is trying to get Swift to play at the halftime show in order to get her to attend the game. (Last weekend, the NFL changed its bio on TikTok to “Taylor was here.”) But there’s also a competing theory on TikTok that the move is a throwback to Swift’s Reputation era, when she was feuding with Kim Kardashian. It is too many to attempt to explain in this piece. Why? “The NFL gave [Swift] more attention than they gave Kim Kardashian announcing Usher as the halftime show.” We like this a lot.
Kelce’s chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes has helped the Chiefs win two Super Bowls. But this summer, rumors swirled about a possible connection the elite tight end might be forming with Swift.
This is always the theory, okay? Swift is rumored to be dating someone new and there’s always a rumor that she’s trying to find a new relationship to write a song about. Hey, if a fling with a football player leads to some Folklore-esque songs that sub in varsity jackets for cardigans, that isn’t the worst thing. It’s one of the best pop songs of the past decade because of her relationship with Harry Styles.
It takes 106 football players to sell out an NFL stadium, or one Taylor Swift. It was no wonder that sales of the Kelce jersey went through the roof after Swift came to the game.
“It started in July, when Travis Kelce went to one of Taylor’s Eras Tour shows when she was in Kansas City,” as Nora Princiotti, staff writer for The Ringer and host of the music podcast Every Single Album, told All Things Considered.
Swift is familiar with football fields. She’s drawn sell-out crowds to 20 NFL stadiums on her “Eras Tour” this year, and she recently announced plans to play in three more pro football venues in 2024, with concerts in New Orleans, Miami and Indianapolis.