TnT
Maybe it was because it was National Daughter’s Day. Maybe it was because of weakness and lightheadedness associated with our Yom Kippur fast. Whatever it was, yesterday afternoon, my 15 year-old daughter who has never watched a down of football and almost never offers unsolicited personal information to me, said this: “Dad, I’m a Kansas City Chiefs fan.” And so it was across the country in the hours after Taylor Swift attended the Chiefs game as Travis Kelce’s guest. The NFL is America’s biggest entertainment brand. Almost. This Defector headline sums things up: Football Game Played Near Taylor Swift. The bonding moments (between Taylor and Travis, my daughter and me, and Swifties and the NFL) aside, you may be wondering why I’d lead NextDraft with a salacious, voyeuristic romance story, that for all we know is fake, and which is not serious, not political, and has virtually no importance beyond good old fashioned titillation—and that we all know will eventually be covered in much greater detail in a Taylor Swift breakup song (86ing 87, Travisty, Tight End of an Era?). Well, I’m leading with TnT precisely because it’s light and fun and gossipy; because I’m nostalgic for news stories that are unrelated to the impending end of American democracy. We’ll get to those, believe me. But isn’t it nice to spend one blurb on a topic that doesn’t involve election overthrowing, indictment denying, insurrections, mugshot worshipping, government shutdowns, or Jewish Space Lasers? Who knows, if I cover this story extensively enough, maybe my daughter will even subscribe to NextDraft (editorial note: she won’t). The New Yorker: “Swift and Kelce are a dream pairing for the NFL: it’s an alliance with the only cultural force in America bigger than itself. On TikTok, the official N.F.L. account changed its bio to read, ‘Taylor was here.’ On sports radio, in Boston, the legendary coach Bill Belichick said that Swift would be the biggest catch of Kelce’s career.” Kelce-Swift Is a Dream Pairing for the NFL. (It’s a dream-pairing in my household, too. At least until/if the the 49ers play the Chiefs in the SuperBowl.)
+ “Swifties and football fans may represent the two largest and most powerful forces in American popular entertainment. It would be silly to suggest that these fan bases are mutually exclusive (hello!). It is fair to say, though, that the two groups are mingling like never before, and learning to speak each other’s languages.” The Ringer: The Definitive Guide to All Things Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
+ Maybe I was overly sanguine and starry-eyed in suggesting this story wasn’t political. In today’s America, everything is political and most of those politics are jaw-droppingly stupid. “Travis Kelce, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end who has been making headlines for his rumored romance with Taylor Swift, is also facing backlash from right-wing fans for his appearances in advertisements for Bud Light, the beer brand boycotted by some conservatives, and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines.” (Oh, please pick a popularity fight with Taylor Swift. It may be the one thing that can save democracy.)
