Taylor Swift is many things: a talented singer songwriter, a cat lover, and an incredible baker. But it seems she's also picked up another unexpected interest from her relationship with Travis Kelce.
Inspired by her boyfriend's career as a football star for the Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor has got really into the sport — particularly the strategy behind it. The team's star quarterback Patrick Mahomes revealed the "Cruel Summer" singer's interest in football while discussing the importance of women showing an interest in the sport.
While making his point, he revealed that Taylor's interest in football surprised him, because he realized "how genuine and cool she is."
"I think that’s been special to me because she’s, like you said, the most famous person in the world — she could not be," Patrick told NBC sports.
"And she’s really interested in football, and she asks a lot of great questions. Started drawing up plays," the football star added. He continued that her football plays were so good that the team "might have to put one in.”
On a personal note, Patrick explained his own personal reason why he hoped more women would get interested in the sport.
"I think it’s been cool to see the girls and the women that have really embraced watching football," he explained, adding: "Iknow being a girl dad, how cool it is for me to see like these little girls — these daughters — and how much they’re loving to spend time with their dad, watching football."
Taylor's interest in football no doubt came to light when she started dating the Chiefs' tight end, as she started attending his games in September 2023. Her high profile appearances in support of Travis led to a massive increase in people paying attention to the sport.
Reports suggested that Taylor's presence at the games led to a 20 percent increase in sponsorships, with a huge surge in female viewership across different age demographics. For teenage girls, NFL viewership increased by 53 percent, while between the 18-24 age demographic, there was an increase of 24 percent.
As interest surrounding her relationship with the football player increased, it all seemed to culminate around the Super Bowl LVIII which attracted an estimated 123.7 million viewers. It became the largest audience for a single-network telecast to date.
Naturally the NFL have welcomed the increasing interest, with Commissioner Roger Goodell explaining: "It creates another group of young fans, particularly young women, that are interested in seeing why is she going to this game, why is she interested in this game besides Travis. She is a football fan."