KANSAS CITY — Move over, Taylor Swift. A band of die-hard, Jewish fans of the Kansas City Chiefs are bringing a little yiddishkeit — and lots of girl power — to Chiefs Kingdom.
Across St. Louis County on game days, these Jewish women of all ages embark on a pilgrimage they hope will end in gridiron triumph: a 240-plus mile drive to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, where they don their favorite jerseys, chow down on tailgate party staples and cheer their hearts out for the Kansas City Chiefs.
More than half a dozen female Chiefs fans from St. Louis told the Jewish Light that their Jewish identity spices up the multicultural melting pot at Arrowhead, where they’ve befriended fans from varying faiths and backgrounds, as well as other Jews.
“Being a Chiefs fan gives me a feeling of community, of feeling good about our love of the team and being united around one cause,” said Traci Goldstein Holdener, 51, a season ticket holder from Chesterfield. “I feel like I’m part of something.”
A working mom and pro-Israel activist, Goldstein Holdener said she “fell in love with the Chiefs” on Sunday, Dec. 17, 1995, a 39-degree afternoon with the wind whipping at Arrowhead and John Elway’s Denver Broncos on the opposing sideline.
Chiefs quarterback Steve Bono ran for a key touchdown and sent about 75,000 fans at Arrowhead into a frenzy. The Chiefs won 20-17 and turned Goldstein Holdener, who previously cared little for football, into a hardcore fan.
She wears her Star of David pendant to games and said she’s been welcomed by Chiefs die-hards from numerous cultures, including a family that brings kosher hot dogs to her at tailgate parties.
“My life is so full of things that are political — I love two things, Israel and the Chiefs — and sometimes it feels great to check out from all that and just enjoy the game,” Goldstein Holdener said. “People will ask me questions when they see [the Star of David], and it’s another way of teaching people about Judaism.”
Mauri Tedder, 26, takes her Jewish pride a step further at Chiefs games, wearing a gold necklace and chai charm large enough to rival an NFL star’s jewelry. She also sports a chai tattoo on her neck, fusing personal style with faith while rooting for quarterback Patrick Mahomes and company.
“I wear my chai every day, I’ve got tattoos that are visible that represent my Judaism, and I’ve always felt at home here,” Tedder, who lives near Creve Couer, said while tailgating at Arrowhead in September. “I feel like I can be me while being a Chiefs fan.”
Tedder’s fandom is a family affair. Her mother, Yvonne Tedder, 58, holds season tickets in Section 123 along the 5-yard line. Before driving to home games, she loads her RAV4 with a grill, tent, chairs, tote packs filled with eating supplies, and that perennial tailgating MVP: a portable toilet.
Like most longtime Chiefs fans, Tedder has rituals that make game days all the more fun. One is cheering on her favorite player, defensive tackle and fellow Florida State University alumnus Derrick Nnadi. Another is snacking on crinkle-cut Crabfries she orders from Chickie’s & Pete’s at Arrowhead at halftime.
“It’s an incredible atmosphere on game day and really fosters a sense of community,” Yvonne Tedder said. “Everybody is one big, happy Chiefs family.”
Rooting for NFL teams has not always been easy for Jewish women, several of whom said aspects of the sport can at times conflict with their values. The game’s impact on player’s brains and bodies, plus allegations of sexism, racism and gender discrimination that permeate the league, can make fandom a tough sell for some.
Still, a 2021 SSRS Sports Poll found that 46% of NFL fans were female, the highest of any professional U.S. sports league.
And that was before Taylor Swift started rocking Chiefs gear.
The music superstar’s high profile romance with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce added a “Swift factor” that has sparked massive growth among the team’s female fan base, Jewish women included, superfan Amy Spetner Doughty said.
“I’m not a Swiftie who became a football fan. I’m a football fan who’s also a Swiftie,” said Spetner Doughty, 52, of Olivette. “I doubled down when my two loves came together, and it’s been unbelievable.”
The Jewish mother of three, a school nurse in Clayton, came to the Chiefs with a broken heart. The Rams’ departure from St. Louis after the 2015 season left her “devastated, angry and hurt.”
“I was crying,” she said. “I just didn’t want to root for anything.”
When Mahomes began his string of spectacular seasons in 2018, Spetner Doughty’s love of the game reawakened.
“I was just all in for the Chiefs from then on,” she said. “And now the Swift factor has brought daddies and their little girls together again.”
Like Spetner Doughty, Chiefs fan Marni Frischer, 24, inherited her love of the Chiefs from her father, Phil Frischer. A fan from the time she could walk, she attended her first game at age 4 with her dad and grew into a fervent football aficionado.
“We’d make a family trip from St. Louis and come in the night before, get barbecue (at Arthur Bryant’s) and then go to the game,” she said.
Frischer sees similarities between her love of Jewish family traditions and her passion for Chiefs football, minus the religion.
“I feel like the aspect of tradition in Judaism is kind of replicated through football, bringing people together, making the game the biggest priority of the day for our family,” she said.
Like many female Chiefs fans, Frischer can reel off player factoids with ease. For instance, she recently schooled a reporter on the 2016 reality dating show “Catching Kelce,” in which 50 women from 50 states competed to win the heart of the star, who has been selected to the NFL Pro Bowl nine times.
Travis and Taylor’s relationship is good for the game, she said.
“There’s been a kind of stigma around women and football, this idea that it’s more for men and that women might shy away from the game, feeling like they can’t ask questions (about the sport),” Frischer said. “I think the Taylor effect has been great because it’s gotten more people involved and interested.”
Beth Higdon, 51, is among longtime fans stepping up their team spirit amid the Swift-Kelce craze. She’ll be attending her first Chiefs game at Arrowhead on Nov. 10 against the Broncos.
The Jewish Chesterfield resident said she’s long loved watching Chiefs games on television but is excited to experience the excitement of live football.
She hopes to bring the back-to-back Super Bowl champs a little luck, too.
“If they’re on a winning streak, we make sure that we’re wearing the same clothes (as the previous week),” said Higdon, whose go-to Sunday apparel is a red Kelce jersey. “I just love this team.”
