I cannot stop watching football lately, but it’s only for one reason. Taylor Swift and her new boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.
My husband recently overheard me playing a game clip on the computer and said, “Are we watching football now?” I answered “No, we’re watching Taylor Swift.”
The multi-award winning, chart-topping singer has much of the world wrapped around her finger, so much so that non-football fans are suddenly watching the sport. Kelce is apparently one of the greatest tight ends of all time and, in this case, tight end is a football term, not a lascivious one.
Clearly, I’m a fair-weather fan or, as the kids say these days, a bandwagon. Well, if there is a Swiftie bandwagon I’ll happily take the driver’s seat. As a mom, I’ll probably also pack snacks for everyone on board. And there are tons of people on board.
Travis Kelce was introduced to many of us bandwagon fans when he played against his brother, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jason Kelce, in the Super Bowl earlier this year.
Usually, I care only about the snacks during the Super Bowl, especially the year I figured out how to make pigs in a gluten free blanket. I used kosher dogs, too, which made them extra delicious. I also pretended to not know what hot dogs are made of, which added to my culinary experience. Those Kelce brothers playing against each other made me mom-nervous. Thank goodness for my gluten free kosher pigs. Anxious eating at its finest.
That aspect of the Super Bowl was just like the time my sons, Davis and Leo, went head-to-head in a Little League game. Their coaches thought it would be hilarious to have Leo pitch and Davis as the leadoff hitter. Ugh, a punch right in Mommy’s ample gut. The game ended in a tie, even after overtime or extra innings or whatever they call it in baseball.
That was the best scenario possible, not just for everyone’s emotions, not just to quell the potential sibling rivalry, but because my little darlings made a secret deal that the winner could hold his athletic cup in the loser’s face while screaming, “Smell the victory!” I wish I were joking.
I can only guess how Mama Kelce felt at the Sibling Rivalry Super Bowl. She cheered on her sons equally, wearing a jacket custom made from half Chiefs logo fabric and half Eagles logo fabric. Then she went on to sports mom superstar status by filming a Chunky Soup commercial with the boys. Mama Kelce is not a regular mom; she’s a cool mom.
At a recent game, she hung out in a suite with Taylor, and the two were caught on camera kibitzing and high-fiving. Did the world’s eyes watching make Mama Kelce nervous or was she able to shake it off (see what I did there)?
I thought Travis reached peak adorableness when he hosted “Saturday Night Live.” But this new headline-making romance with Tay Tay brings him to a whole new heartthrob level. It’s kind of like in high school when a guy likes you and he is only sort of cute, but then you get your friends to agree he is really, really cute, and suddenly he is a hot prospect.
Taylor’s unfortunate love life resulted in heartbreak as well as in millions upon millions of dollars made from the songs she wrote about her failed romances. Can’t she just find a nice boy? Maybe she should cover the song “Matchmaker” from “Fiddler on the Roof,” or summon the ghost of Yente, originally played by Bea Arthur, to seal the deal on this one. So much pop culture and kitsch!
Taylor and Travis deserve each other, mensch to mensch. The singer recently gave the entire crew from her tour bonuses to the tune of $55 million dollars. Travis has his own foundation, 87 and Running, which provides resources and support to underserved children across the country.
He’s gorgeous, she’s gorgeous. He’s generous, she’s generous. They both publicly love their mothers. I bet they call their grandparents regularly, too. They could be our new Newman and Woodward, a modern-day Bogey and Bacall, Ross and Rachel before they took a break.
To make it clear, I’ve never before cared about football. I still don’t. It’s just that after so many breakup songs, I want Taylor to find everlasting love, and maybe Travis is her beshert.
