Taylor Swift Is Not To Blame For Recent Decline Of Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs | Lexie Rigden

Miss Americana, Taylor Swift, is a cultural and economic force. One cannot overstate her power in the music industry. 

Yet Chiefs Kingdom believes she possesses a more sinister power: the ability to turn a great football player into an average one. At least that’s what people say, mmm hmm.

Swift supporters are playing defense in the blame game for what many say is Swift’s offense—ruining her boyfriend Travis Kelce's football career and the Chiefs offense.

Taylor Swift Criticism Is Unfair, Irrational, Hypocritical

They're taking shots at her like it’s Patrón. They need to calm down.

Fans do not blame Swift’s love interests when she isn’t nominated for a Grammy. If the interest level in the next leg of her tour decreases, people won’t blame Kelce. They need to just stop.

Chiefs fans hold giant cutouts of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. (Getty Images)

If she gives some lackluster performances, people will blame Swift, not Kelce, and rightfully so. If Kelce’s average playing and the Chiefs’ recent losses flow from a distraction caused by their love story and Swift’s red lip, classic thing that he likes, then perhaps Kelce just wasn’t THAT great. Don’t blame him, love made him crazy.

Famous athletes and models/celebrities are frequent bedfellows, and for the truly great players, their bejeweled outside relationships don’t impact their stats. Tom Brady, one of the greatest football players of all time, was married to Gisele Bundchen—a literal Victoria’s Secret angel. 

Bundchen did not turn Brady from a marquee player to a mediocre one. Christian McCaffrey, star running back for the 49ers, is dating one of the hottest women on the planet, Olivia Culpo, and is still breaking football records. McCaffrey isn't so bad himself. Side note, I wonder how many girls he has loved and left haunted.

We Live In A Distracting World

There is a plethora of distractions for athletes—brushes with the law, scandals on and off the field, baby mama drama. Players must shake it off when they reach the field. The singular blame of an entire teams’ recent failings on one woman smacks of a Chiefs Kingdom hissy fit—screaming, crying, perfect storm. I bet Swift doesn’t like the role of the fool they are making her play.  

Kelce is 34 years old—young for the earth, old for the field. Maybe he’s just naturally losing some steam. He’d probably rather be feeling 22. Maybe he is a truly great player who is just having a few bad games, and he will get smarter and harder in the nick of time. Maybe the Chiefs' lack of another reliable receiver has made Kelce a target for double and triple teaming during games. It must be exhausting always rooting for the only good receiver.

As unfair as it is to blame Swift for his recent losses, it is just as unfair to expect Kelce to always play like he would in the fans’ wildest dreams.

Regardless of the impact on his playing—whether it can be attributable to Swift or not—Kelce is far better off with Swift as his lover than without. Their relationship is a marketing bonanza no PR team with an unlimited budget could ever produce. 

Is The High Worth The Pain?

Kelce is far more bankable now that he is not “just” a football player. Kelce has many decades ahead of him outside of Arrowhead Stadium. Because of Swift, he may never go out of style. Perhaps he will become a sports commentator, motivational speaker, or, like OJ Simpson, an actor (minus the double murder and robbery). Kelce’s legacy is going to be forever, or it’s going to go down in flames. Only time will tell.

Regardless of whether Kelce's playing rebounds, he is far better off now than he was six months ago, when only football fans knew his name.  

So, instead of blaming Taylor Swift for his and his team’s losses, let’s thank her for writing his name in her blank space. He can tell us when (if) it’s over if the high was worth the pain.