Last year, Swift and Kelce locked lips on the field at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as red and gold confetti fell like rain after the Chiefs won their second straight Super Bowl — the duo's first since becoming a sports-and-music power couple.
That was a celebratory affair for Swift all night: She won a beer-chugging contest to raucous cheers from the pro-Chiefs crowd, and she spent the game partying with celebrity friends including Blake Lively and Lana Del Rey.
Yet much has changed over the past 12 months. Many sports fans have turned against Swift, whom they believe gets far too much television time during NFL games. And even more fans have turned against the Chiefs, who have replaced the Patriots of Tom Brady as the juggernaut that NFL fans love to hate.
So it wasn't surprising that Swift was booed when shown on the videoboards alongside rapper Ice Spice during a break in the first quarter Sunday night. She gave a bit of a side-eye look and wrinkled her nose when she realized the boos were for her.
By the second half, and with the Eagles in control, the cameras were staying away from her entirely, and after the game, President Donald Trump took a dig at Swift, who endorsed Kamala Harris in last year's election.
“The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift,” Trump posted on social media. “She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!”
Swift and Kelce became a couple early last season, when the four-time All-Pro tight end invited the songstress to watch him play in a game against the Bears. Kelce had famously tried and failed to deliver a friendship bracelet to Swift when she had played at Arrowhead Stadium, but she took him up on the offer to attend a game and their relationship blossomed.
Perhaps being shut out at the Grammy Awards last week was a harbinger of a long, difficult night. In 2024, she had won album of the year for her 14th career Grammy a week before joining Kelce for their on-field Super Bowl celebration.
That week was arguably peak Taylor and Travis, not that their stardom has dimmed since. In 2024, after the Grammys, she was in the midst of her Eras Tour and had played a concert in Tokyo before making a mad dash to Las Vegas for the game.
This year she eased into the Big Easy, arriving in time to join Kelce on a double date with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, on Friday night. The couples dined at Lilette, a French restaurant near the Garden District.
On the eve of the big game, Swift was spotted with musicians Danielle and Alana Haim at Gianna Restaurant.
The big question swirling early Sunday was what might happen if Kelce won a third straight Super Bowl ring and fourth overall. Would he pick such a festive moment to propose? BetMGM Sportsbook gave 8/1 odds for those willing to wager on it.
That possibility was snuffed out well before the game was over.
The Chiefs fell to 19-4 with Swift in the crowd, and Sunday was the first time she saw them lose in the playoffs.
“We haven’t played that bad all year. You don’t lose like that without everything going bad,” Kelce said.
Now, the question is whether the 35-year-old Kelce — who made himself scarce in the postgame locker room — will be back for another Super Bowl run. He has been noncommittal about playing next year, and some within the Chiefs organization are bracing for a potential retirement after a record-setting career that will almost certainly land him in the Hall of Fame.
Kelce has been laying the groundwork for his post-playing career for years. He has a lucrative podcast with his brother, retired Eagles center Jason Kelce, and has hosted game shows and even tried his hand at acting this past offseason.
“I’ll let Travis make that decision on his own,” said Mahomes, his closest buddy on the team. “He knows he still has a lot of football left in him. I mean, you can see it. He always makes plays in the biggest moment, but it’s if he wants to put in that grind, because it takes it takes it to go out there and play 20 games, whatever it is, and get to the Super Bowl.
“He’s done enough to be a gold-jacket guy and first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Mahomes added, “but I know he still has love for the game, and he’ll get to spend some time with his family and make that decision on his own.”
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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.
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