At first, it sounds like one of those outlandish conspiracy theories that we kept hearing during the last postseason:
“Taylor Swift is directly impacting the National Football League.”
However, in the case of the 2024 scheduling process, it is true. The Eras Tour is truly a pop culture force of nature, with the Swifties set to take over three more NFL stadiums for nine remaining shows.
“We certainly considered the tour dates that hit NFL stadiums,” said Mike North, NFL Vice President for Broadcast Planning, on a media conference call following the release of the upcoming season schedule.
“I think she’s in Miami, maybe New Orleans, Indy. We certainly considered those.”
Yes, the Dolphins, Saints, and Colts were all assigned road games on the weekends when Tay and her entourage visited those respective cities.
North is aware of one specific conspiracy theory from Wednesday’s schedule announcement but quickly discredited it.
“One thing we didn’t consider was that I saw a lot of conspiracy theorists talking about Kansas City at Buffalo in the middle of the season, right when Taylor’s playing Toronto,” he continued.
“That one definitely did not hit our radar screen.”
Swift has six shows scheduled in Toronto, just across Lake Ontario from Buffalo, between Nov. 14 and 23.
She is off on Nov. 17, when her boyfriend Travis Kelce and the Chiefs visit the Bills. Again, this is just a mere coincidence. However, the fact that a brand as big as the NFL is even talking about this tells you just how much of an impact Swift and her devoted fan base have on American culture.
Although it is difficult to compare the two phenomena, as they occurred in two vastly different media landscapes, it certainly feels like the Swift-Kelce relationship is generating much more publicity than the Jessica Simpson-Tony Romo affair ever did.
It is clear now that the current so-called America’s Team is Kansas City. Swift and Kelce have become America’s favorite power couple.
So when the upcoming season kicks off on Sept. 5th, with an AFC title game rematch, Ravens fans must accept that their team will be the proverbial “bad guys.”
However, as Swift once told us, it is “exhausting always rooting for the Anti-Hero.”
