This Sunday, millions of Americans will tune in to the 2025 Super Bowl to watch the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans.
It's been a long time coming for these two teams, who’ve had bad blood since the Chiefs defeated the Eagles 38-35 at the end of the 2022 season, and I, for one, can't wait to see how the three-peat hopeful Chiefs rise to the challenge of upholding their victory over the birds.
But a four-hour-long game rooted in rivalry can only be entertaining for so long. Thankfully, I have a certain singer/songwriter to look out for and hold my interest during the more boring parts of the game, like when the players walk around for 20 seconds in between every play for no apparent reason.
My attention to living-legend Taylor Swift is held by many new enjoyers of the sport, who became avid watchers once Swift began making appearances at Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's games. Since her first attendance at a home game in September 2023, attention to the league has skyrocketed thanks to support from Swift's fanbase.
Last year’s Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the reigning champion Chiefs drew in a spectacular amount of viewers. Coverage of the game reached new levels with Swiftie-led social platform X accounts who reported on the game, like Tayvis Nation (@tayvisnation) and Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC), who have a combined following of over 600,000 fans. That’s not even counting the hundreds, if not thousands, of other social media accounts dedicated to coverage of the superstar’s inner life.
Swift’s relationship with Kelce has bolstered his reputation too. When Swift attended last year’s Super Bowl, Kelce gained more Instagram followers in a single day than the NFL’s top 100 players combined and his number 87 jersey saw a 400% increase in sales.
Last year’s Super Bowl also saw a 63% increase in female viewership, with a 53% increase among teen girls alone, making it the largest TV broadcast since the moon landing in 1969.
More recently, January's AFC Championship game between the Chiefs and the Bills set a new record for the number of viewers tuned in. Approximately 57 million people watched, surpassing that of last year’s AFC game, for which Swift was also in attendance.
But her impact on the NFL goes far beyond the number of people watching. Swift’s association with the corporation is predicted to have increased the league’s net worth by over $122 million, expanding the brand’s reach to new heights.
It’s no secret that football is a male-dominated sport, both in players, coaches and referees, as well as the casual or dedicated viewer. Football is undoubtedly regarded by many as one of the most masculine forms of entertainment, with women on the proverbial sidelines. But Swift has started to change that. By merely showing up to support her partner, she has caused a domino effect of female empowerment both on and off the field.
So if Swift is so good for football, why do so many fans object to seeing her at the games? Why have some gone as far as writing threats on signs directed to Swift at the games she attends and even taken to harassing Kelce himself, as well as the rest of his family?
Why are grown men clocking in to bully Swifties on social media platforms like it's their day job? Why can’t a woman enjoy what men have for decades? And why is hating TIME Magazine's 2023 Person of the Year the hill that absurd, misogynistic men insist on dying upon?
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Since the start of her career, Swift has carried the brunt of disrespectful, arrogant men who hate to see a woman win (insert the 2009 MTV Awards here). As a result, her fans have grown accustomed to the distaste she receives both online and from people in real life. Whether it be a passing joke about her relationship history from an undoubtedly jealous teenage boy or a full-blown tirade from your beer-bellied uncle at the Thanksgiving table about how Swift “ruined football,” spouting claims that she’s shown for an absurd amount of times between plays, nevermind the fact that she only takes up an average of 0.46% of the screen time of any game she attends.
Put simply, Swift is hated because she makes insecure men feel threatened. She’s a successful, powerful businesswoman at the height of her career who spends her free time supporting her partner amongst her closest family and friends, and having an amazing time doing it. She is ushering in a new generation of young, female fans who are diving headfirst, fearless into enjoying a sector of American entertainment that has been closed off to women for so long.
So while I don’t know the names of every player on the Chiefs, and I’m still not entirely sure what a first down means, I tune in to their games whenever I can, hoping to catch a glimpse of Miss Americana herself, the Most Valuable Princess of Chiefs Kingdom and the leader of a new era of women in sports.
Emily Burns is a sophomore opinion writer for The Miami Student who is majoring in Environmental Earth Science. She also competes ice dance for the Miami University Figure Skating team.
Read More
Resolve to have more fun in 2025
By Molly Francis | 2 days agoWe all have so much we have to do. I wanted to create some goals that would make me feel like I get to do them. So, I have curated a list of fun New Year’s resolutions for 2025.
City similarities: Why are street names all the same?
By Whitney Wilson-Harris | 2 days agoEvery city I’ve been to has been the same. Not by how it looks, but by what you will find there. However, there is one thing that you will always notice no matter what city you’re in: street names are always similar.
I saw the Los Angeles wildfires
By Chloe McKinney | 3 days agoAround 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8, the smell of burning rubber hit my nose outside my apartment in AVA Toluca Hills, Los Angeles.