If you don’t think about it too hard, seeing pictures of Philadelphia Eagles fan Taylor Swift and Eagles mom Donna Kelce together is kind of cute.
But once you realize they’re not cheering for the Birds, and the photos are actually from Kansas City, and that Swift is wearing the gear of the team that beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl less than 7 months ago … well, that’s a breeding ground for some pretty mixed feelings.
Or at least that seems to be the case for a number of Eagles fans, many of whom have expressed feelings of betrayal — or hopes that this is all part of some grand conspiracy to help the Birds clinch a Super Bowl title this season.
Swift, who grew up in Berks County, has a history with Philly sports, including performing at a Sixers game as a preteen and singing the national anthem at Citizens Bank Park during the 2008 World Series.
As for her history with the football team specifically, Swift name-dropped the team in her 2020 song “gold rush,” where she sings about her “Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door.” (Yes, she’s confirmed that it was a reference to the Birds, not the band.) She was spotted sporting an Eagles sweatshirt in public as recently as June.
But the Pennsylvania-born pop star has recently been linked romantically to Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — Eagles center Jason Kelce’s younger brother — and seemingly confirmed that she was at least interested in him when she showed up in red to the Chiefs’ Sunday game against the Chicago Bears to cheer him on alongside his mother.
The lore: When Swift played Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City back in July, the younger Kelce tried to meet Swift and slip her his number by way of friendship bracelet, but it didn’t work out for him, he told his older brother on their podcast, “New Heights.”
“She’s a big Eagles fan, so maybe she just made something up and didn’t want to talk to you,” the older Kelce responded.
Flash forward to late August/early September, and rumors that Travis Kelce and Swift had been hanging out started swirling. Sports media tried (multiple times) to get both Jason and Travis to confirm.
That ultimately resulted in Travis saying in an interview last week, “I threw the ball in her court, and you know, I told her, ‘I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead, you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit.’ So we’ll see what happens in the near future.”
Seems like she accepted his invitation, which caused quite the stir on social media (the NFL even posted about it!), left many Swifties wondering if now they have to actually care about football, and provoked ~discourse~ among Birds fans who were aware of Swift’s previously stated team loyalties.
Some people thought it really wasn’t that deep.
“She’s a Birds fan,” someone commented on NBC Sports Philadelphia reporter John Clark’s Facebook post about the matter. “Supporting her new friend is cool too. She’ll have her Eagles Jersey ready when she needs it.”
And some diverted the conversation to the NFL “Kelce-Swift duo” that should really be capturing the most attention.
Others couldn’t really blame Swift for her choices.
And some said she deserved a “free pass” since she was spending the game next to Mama Kelce.
But of course, there were also feelings of anger, sadness, shock, disappointment, and/or betrayal.
“Good Morning to everyone but Taylor Swift,” Visit Philly posted to its Threads account on Monday morning.
“A real birds fan doesn’t wear other team’s gear,” someone replied to that post. “Idk who your potential Significant other is. (And Mrs Kelce doesn’t count)”
Many people suggested there was more than just a football game afoot.
Perhaps, they posited, she’s got a plan to string him along until a crucial moment in the postseason, when she’ll break his heart and throw him off his game.
“OUR girl Taylor has officially started her undercover mission,” @PHLEaglesNation tweeted.
If the conspiracy theories are just that — theories — and not truth, how bad is it really for Swift to have strayed?
“Depends on how Jason Kelce feels,” one Twitter user said.
Great point. What does Jason Kelce have to say about the situation, after all?
You can find his answer in his quote tweet of a (NSFW) Barstool video addressing the situation, to which he responded “PREACH!!!! Go Birds!”
