Mike Pisoni’s interest in the NFL follows a typical trajectory for many longtime St. Louisans.
He had season tickets in the early 1970s to watch the Big Red. Then, the St. Louis Cardinals football team left town in 1987. When the Rams came to town, he periodically went to their games and rooted for them until they also left in 2016. The underhanded way the owners and league treated St. Louis and its fans turned him off from following the sport.
“I don’t think I’ve watched one full game since the Rams left,” he said.
He was surprised when his adult daughter, who lives in Maryland, recently asked for their DirectTV password, so she could watch the Kansas City Chiefs game. Where was this newfound interest coming from?
Donna Kelce, left, mother of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce watched the game with pop superstar Taylor Swift, center, during the first-half on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. (Tammy Ljungblad/Kansas City Star/TNS)
Tammy Ljungblad, Kansas City Star/TNS
His daughter, Ashley Martin, 39, said she had no interest in the NFL until a certain mega pop star started showing up at the Chiefs games to cheer on her new love interest, tight-end Travis Kelce.
People are also reading…
“Taylor Swift is very much my cup of tea,” Martin said. “I’ve watched every single game since this became a public interest.” However, when Swift isn’t at the games, she tunes out. It’s not as exciting to watch.
“Being a witness to their happy little love story is really fun, so I’m all about it,” she said.
This is music to the NFL’s ears. The “Swiftie Effect” has been a boon for professional football — bringing new eyeballs, heightened pop culture relevancy and merch money. NFL’s official apparel partner reported a 400 percent spike in sales of Kelce jerseys the day Swift attended her first Chiefs game.
But even if Taylor Swift’s NFL magic works on the rest of the world, can it work in St. Louis?
Our town has long-standing bad blood with that particular professional sport. And, is it adding salt to our wounds that the other cool city in Missouri is getting all the love while we are left out in the cold?
Please don’t be in love with someone else, Tay.
Frank Viverito, chief advisory officer and past president for the St. Louis Sports Commission, says it isn’t that deep. While a St. Louis-Kansas City rivalry heats up for specific events, like the ‘85 World Series or the recent MLS playoff games, it’s a very friendly relationship.
Frank Viverito with St. Louis Sports Commission
“It’s not what I would call a rivalry like the Cards and Cubs,” he said. He’s delighted that the Chiefs are doing well. But, when the Rams ditched St. Louis, Viverito knew he was never, ever, getting back together with the NFL.
“It would have to be a lot more than Taylor Swift to bring me back,” he said, ruefully. He quickly clarified, “Please don’t interpret that as not being a Taylor Swift fan. I wouldn’t want to be the only person in the world in that category. Don’t paint me that way.”
No one wants to risk the ire of the Swifties. The NFL is doing everything in its power to court them.
Solomon Alexander, foundation director for the St. Louis Sports Commission, says this is the first time he can recall the NFL clout chasing. The leauge recognizes Swift’s star eclipses its own.
“They are creating stats that don’t even exist, like this is how Kelce does when she is at the game, and this is how he does when she isn’t,” Alexander said.
“That’s all they are going to get from her, so they are going to chase it,” he added. But he isn’t bothered at all by the frequent cutaways to Swift cheering for her love interest. In fact, it stirred up some new conversations in his own home.
His 20-year-old daughter, who previously had no interest in the sport, asked him what a tight end does. She wanted to know if that position usually scores as many touchdowns as Kelce does.
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are seen here on October 15 in New York City.
Getty Images
“Not usually,” Alexander told her. “He’s very, very good.”
He believes his daughter will remain a fair-weather, casual fan. “She hasn’t asked me what kind of offense Baltimore is running,” he joked. But Swift’s presence has made her and her friends pay attention to the sport and team.
She’s hardly alone. The St. Louis ratings for Chiefs games have been high all season, but for two more recent games the ratings were astronomical, according to Nielsen data. Chiefs games that were aired on over-the-air television recently earned ratings of 16.7 and 18.4. By comparison, the best rating in this market for an MLB game in the just-completed World Series was 8.0.
Howard Richards, who played for the Dallas Cowboys for seven years and the Seattle Seahawks for a year, is currently the color analyst for the Missouri Tigers Football radio broadcast. He said he hopes the Swift-Kelce situationship continues because it’s great for the sport. He doesn’t understand why some fans have grumbled about the NFL maximizing airtime for Swift during the broadcasts.
“Why is it bothering you so much?” he says to those annoyed with the hype.
“The world has enough problems,” Richards said. “Don’t take it out on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.”
Proving his point is Tess Yocom, 31, a digital marketer and devoted Swiftie in St. Louis, who says she previously had zero interest in the NFL. Now, she’s aware of when the Chiefs are playing and if it’s a home game. She will scroll through social media to check if Swift is attending the game. The fact that the superstar is partying in Missouri — and it’s not in St. Louis — is maddening.
Taylor Swift performs at Soldier Field on June 2, 2023, in Chicago. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
Shanna Madison, Chicago Tribune/TNS
“I had no FOMO (fear of missing out) about not having a NFL team before this, but seeing her in Kansas City, which is so close but so far away, I’m so completely jealous,” Yocom said.
Perhaps the NFL’s greatest growth opportunity lies with an even younger generation — those born after the peak of the St. Louis Rams breakup drama.
Lillian Austin, 12, in Kirkwood, has been a Swift fan for most of her young life. She heard about Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs game, from her father, who remains a big football fan.
“I did my own research and saw they were dating,” she said. Her reaction: Omg, that’s amazing.
She’s started watching the Chiefs games with her father to see if Swift was going to show up. She loves watching Swift’s reaction after Kelce scores a touchdown and learning Swift’s handshake with Patrick Mahomes’ wife, Brittany.
Lillian’s best friend, Mary White, also 12, agrees that football has become a lot more interesting since Swift got involved.
“I think it’s helping the Chiefs a lot,” she said. (A sidenote not meant to undercut Swift’s influence at all: The Chiefs are defending Super Bowl champions and are 7-2 this season, so far.) Mary does wish St. Louis’ eligible bachelors had tried harder.
“It would be really cool having Taylor Swift where you grew up,” she said. “I kind of wish it was us instead of them.”
Her advice to the NFL is to show more shots of Taylor during the game.
“I really think that’s what people are interested in,” she said. Also, it’s proven that Kelce plays better when Swift is at the games, she added. Lillian concurred with her friend’s recommendation to the league.
She is debating whether to get a Chiefs jersey. Her impression of the sport is starting to evolve.
“Initially, I thought it was kind of weird that 30-year-old men are attacking each other for a football, but now, I can kinda get it,” she said. “I mean, Taylor Swift is there. I still think it’s 30-year-old men attacking each other, but, like, good for them.”
Travis Kelce “enjoyed” seeing couples dressed as him and Taylor Swift for Halloween and was particularly amused by one which referenced online chat that the singer put him on the map.
Bang Showbiz
Dan Caesar contributed information for this story.
Be the first to know
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
2023-11-10 22:15:00
#Taylor #Swift #heal #Louis #bad #blood #NFL
