As a massive sports fan and also a massive Swiftie, I’m sure you can assume what my Twitter timeline and TikTok For You Page have looked like over the past few days. If you guessed, “exclusively content related to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce,” you would be correct!

For those of us who are not chronically online, I’ll catch you up. A few months ago, Taylor Swift played a date of her iconic “Eras Tour” at Arrowhead Stadium where the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs play. In an episode of his podcast, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce said he was disappointed that he didn’t get to meet the singer, because he wanted to give her a friendship bracelet “with [his] number on it”, hoping to participate in a tradition that her fans have been creating throughout the tour.

When asked if he meant his jersey number or phone number, he replied, “You know which one.” And so, it begins.

Fast forward almost two months later to mid-September, and rumors were starting to swirl that Kelce and Swift were talking and having fun with each other. On the Pat McAfee show that same week, Kelce stated that he had extended an invitation to see him “rock the stage at Arrowhead” just like he had done for her that summer.

Just ten days after the rumors began, Swift made an appearance at the Chiefs vs. Bears game at Arrowhead Stadium, sitting beside Kelce’s mother in his family’s suite. When Kelce scored a touchdown, she shouted possibly the best “Let’s f*cking go!” of all time, celebrating with his friends and family.

After the game, they were spotted leaving the stadium together, but that might be the last we hear of the situation. Kelce took to his podcast once again to say that he won’t be talking much about his relationship with Swift anymore, to respect her privacy.

So, what does all of this mean for the sports world, the music industry, and all surrounding areas? A lot, actually. Let me explain.

As mentioned earlier, I’ve been a fan of both pro sports and Taylor Swift for as long as I can remember. These interests didn’t always seem to mesh, though. Swifties are mostly women and are constantly criticized, often in sexist ways. Ironically enough, sports fans are stereotypically men and are often the ones doing the sexist criticizing to women.

Some of my earliest memories of sports include being told that I didn’t know anything or I couldn’t be a fan because I was a girl. Some of my earliest memories of being a fan of Taylor Swift are eerily similar, having to defend her from strangers attacking her for her love life, her lyrics, her outfits, or something else they had no business attacking her for.

Sports fans and Swifties have more in common than they might think. I’ve cried in huge stadiums over Taylor Swift and my favorite hockey team. I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of money on merchandise for both of them, too. Swifties and sports fans are probably two of the most passionate groups of people in the world, yet they don’t always see eye to eye.

While I agree that the love lives of both Swift and Kelce are none of our business, I can’t lie and say it hasn’t been fun to watch them have fun over the past few weeks. I’m watching the two things I love the most interact in such a huge way, and I’m not the only one who’s benefitting from it.

According to ReplayPoker, on Sept. 26, “After Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Chicago Bears game on September 24, searches for Travis Kelce jerseys skyrocketed by 1,267%, overtaking quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the first time in history. Demand for Travis Kelce jerseys is at its highest since an all-time high after winning the 2023 Super Bowl. Searches for Kansas City Chiefs jerseys and tickets have surged by 1,974% and 1,853%, respectively, over the last seven days.”

The NFL, Chiefs, and Kelce are all benefitting in a huge way from this, and not just for the reasons listed in those statistics. Their product is being shown to audiences that may have never watched football before, and they’re showing interest in it. This week, Kelce even dedicated a segment in his podcast to answering questions about football from Swifties looking to understand the sport and become fans now that their favorite singer is involved in it.

This intersection of Swift fandom and the Chiefs’ “Red Kingdom” could also encourage football fans to voice their love for the iconic pop star. That’s something they might not have been comfortable doing as a part of such a masculine and sometimes toxic community.

I’m not sure how often the “Traylor” content will keep rolling in, as Kelce and Swift have requested respect for their privacy, but I have no doubt that even if it’s not a perfect “Love Story,” last weekend’s events will have a huge impact on the music industry, the sports world, and pop culture as a whole. More eyes are on the NFL than ever before, and it’s all because of a pop star that many of its fans probably resent or have made fun of – what did Taylor say about karma, again?