Taylor Swift once more watches Chiefs, Kelce amid romance rumours

AFP

Pop megastar Taylor Swift was only a spectator on Sunday at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, however she was nonetheless the star of the present as she watched her rumored beau, Kansas City Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce, face the New York Jets.

With a number of superstar mates becoming a member of her – together with actors Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Hugh Jackman – the singer noticed the defending champion Chiefs eke out a 23-20 victory.

Swift’s attendance on the Chiefs’ final two video games – final week, she joined Kelce’s mother, Donna, in Missouri to observe the Chiefs beat the Bears – has despatched the National Football League’s ticket gross sales and tv viewership hovering.

NBC’s cameras didn’t present Swift fairly as typically as final week’s broadcast did, however viewers obtained loads of glimpses of her excessive above the sector in a luxurious suite. As the Chiefs scored the primary landing of the sport – operating again Isaiah Pacheco, not Kelce, crossed the objective line – the community panned to Swift hugging companions in celebration.

Unlike final week, when she sported a red-and-white Chiefs jacket in Missouri, Swift – who lives in New York City – wore a black prime and leather-based jacket within the extra hostile environs of the Jets house stadium.

Sunday Night Football is already the nation’s most-watched primetime present, however anticipation for Sunday’s recreation reached a fever pitch as Swift’s cultlike fanbase, referred to as “Swifties,” eagerly awaited her look.

Jets ticket gross sales for his or her recreation towards the Chiefs soared, with gross sales in a single day greater than doubling the earlier document for this season, in keeping with StubHub, a ticket resale platform. Sunday’s recreation was the second-highest promoting recreation of the NFL season after the season opener, Stubhub mentioned.

The least expensive nosebleed seat tickets for Sunday’s recreation in East Rutherford, New Jersey, have been going for $81 on Sunday afternoon, whereas resale tickets on the decrease degree value near $9,000.

Swift, 33, has offered out soccer stadiums throughout the United States over the past a number of months as she launched into the home leg of her worldwide, record-breaking Eras Tour.

Advertisements for the upcoming Eras live performance movie, opening in theatres subsequent month, ran on NBC forward of the sport broadcast. Gambling websites supplied a number of Swift-themed bets earlier than kickoff; FanDuel customers might wager towards Kelce scoring a landing, a wager titled the “FriENDZONE”.

Ahead of Sunday’s recreation, Sunday Night Football on NBC posted a promotional video on X with Swift’s music Welcome to New York taking part in within the background and the caption, “Taylor Made for Sunday Night”.

Viewership for the Chiefs’ September 24 recreation, when Swift first attended, spiked 63 per cent week-over-week amongst ladies ages 18-49, Swift’s prime fan demographic.

Swift and Kelce have performed coy on the character of their relationship. Kelce spoke briefly about Swift this week when his brother, Jason, who performs for the Philadelphia Eagles, jokingly requested him on their podcast: “How’s it feel that Taylor Swift has finally put you on the map?”

“Shout out to Taylor for coming through and seeing me rock the stage,” mentioned Kelce, who described her as wanting “amazing” and dubbed Swift’s enthusiasm throughout the recreation and the joy of Chiefs followers at seeing her there as “absolutely hysterical”.