Football is back with the NFL 2024-2025 season officially starting on Thursday, September 5, with an encounter between the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs.
In a video the NFL social media team shared online, Swift has featured five times in the 30-second clip, dividing fans.
The hype video features Swift at games supporting the Chiefs and cheering on her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, throughout the NFL season. Month by month, the video showcases some of the biggest moments of the season, ending with moments from Super Bowl LVIII, when Swift and Kelce kissed following the Chiefs’ win, and Swift took shots with her friends during the big game.
The controversy over featuring Swift goes back to last season when the “Fortnight” singer started making appearances at games to show support for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. Football fans feel that featuring Swift as the game is in progress distracts from what’s happening on the field.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the “Taylor Swift effect” and praised the singer’s ability to attract new viewers and increase interest in the game.
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“Having the Taylor Swift effect is also a positive,” he said during a press conference ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. “Both Travis and Taylor are wonderful young people, they seem very happy. She knows great entertainment and I think that’s why she loves NFL football. I think it’s great to have her a part of it. Obviously, it creates a buzz, another group of young fans. Particularly young women.”
Following the coverage of Swift at games, the NFL also released a statement addressing football fans outcries.
“We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally,” the NFL said in October 2024. “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.”
