The rumored romance between pop star Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been making headlines lately, but it seems to have also affected Kelce’s performance on the field. According to a stat that ran during Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Kelce has more than double the receiving yards per game (99) when Swift is in the house versus when he’s “left to his own devices” (46.5). The Chiefs have also won all four games that Swift has attended so far, after dropping their season opener, in which Kelce did not play.
Micah Parsons’ Theory
One of the NFL’s other superstars, Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, has offered his explanation for why Kelce plays better in front of his “bad girl” belle. On this week’s episode of his podcast The Edge with Micah Parsons, the two-time Pro Bowler said that having a “bad girl” in attendance gives Kelce an extra boost of confidence and swagger.
“Travis Kelce is my boy, the best tight end in the league for the last three, four years, so it’s obviously not Taylor Swift,” Parsons said. “But I will tell you all one thing. When there’s a bad girl, she’s there and she’s looking at you, it gives you that extra boost of confidence. When you pull up to the gym, and your girl’s with you, I don’t care who’s in front of me. Like, without a doubt in my mind, [NBA star] Kawhi Leonard could be in front of me, I gotta give him 30 [points]. I refuse to go in that car on the way home and my girl’s talking about, ‘Damn, he dropped you off today, huh?’ Nah, that’s not happening. So you know what Kelce’s doing. I know what’s going on. He was already doing it. So now, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna do it more now.’ It’s a swagger, it’s a confidence when those things happen.”
Kelce’s Numbers
Kelce has indeed been putting up impressive numbers with Swift watching him. In his last two games, he combined for 21 catches and 303 yards. His 179 yards in the Chiefs’ 31-17 win over the Chargers on Sunday were the second-most of his career. In the previous four games, he had 27 catches for 222 yards.
Even Chiefs coach Andy Reid joked after Sunday’s game that Kelce keeps getting better with time and that Swift can stay around all she wants. “Kelce keeps getting better with time,” Reid said according to SI. “Taylor can stay around all she wants.”
Swift and Kelce’s Relationship
Swift and Kelce have been spotted together several times since September, when they reportedly met at a charity event hosted by Kelce’s teammate Patrick Mahomes. Swift attended her first Chiefs game on Sept. 24, where she watched from a friends and family box alongside Kelce’s mom, Donna Kelce, and the Chiefs beat Chicago 41-10. She was on hand again with an A-list group of friends (Sabrina Carpenter, Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Hugh Jackman) at the Oct. 1 23-20 victory over the New York Jets, as well as KC’s Oct. 8 27-20 home win against the Minnesota Vikings, where she sat down with Mahomes’ wife, Brittany. She was back in the box over the weekend with Brittany and the Kelce family for the win over the Chargers.
Last weekend, Swift and Kelce seemingly confirmed their relationship by holding hands on their way to the SNL afterparty, just after they each made surprise cameos on the show’s season 49 premiere.
