Breaking Down Travis Kelce's Taylor Swift Fandom, from Friendship Bracelets to Eras Tour Shoutouts

Before he was dancing to lyrics inspired by his relationship at Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, Travis Kelce was just a fan of the Grammy-winning singer

It all started with a friendship bracelet for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift.

Before the 34-year-old NFL star was jamming out to songs written about him at the Eras Tour, Kelce started as just a fan of the superstar songstress.

Their love story began in July 2023 when Kelce attended Swift's tour at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, which is also the venue where the Chiefs play.

On an episode of his New Heights podcast with his brother Jason, the tight end revealed that he made a friendship bracelet — a tradition for Eras Tour concert-goers — with his phone number on it to give to her. "I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings," he said on the show, playfully adding that he "took it personal" when he couldn't meet her backstage.

Little did he know, just a few months later he'd be the person greeting Swift as soon as she walked offstage on that very same tour, and that several moments from their headline-grabbing relationship would be referenced in lyrics for her new album, The Tortured Poets Department.

In her TIME Person of the Year interview five months after that Kansas City concert, Swift revealed that she found it "metal as hell" when Kelce "adorably put me on blast on his podcast."

On the song "So High School," Swift sings, "Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights / Tell me 'bout the first time you saw me," likely referencing Kelce's first time seeing her perform at Arrowhead Stadium.

Aside from his public showing of admiration for Swift, Kelce kept it cool when he and Swift finally did connect. “We started hanging out right after that," Swift told TIME, referring to the podcast episode as the catalyst for their romance. "So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other."

Just before the singer was seen at her first Chiefs game, Kelce said he had invited Swift to a game during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, but her attendance was kept under wraps until fans spotted her in Kelce's family suite sitting next to his mom, Donna Kelce, on Sept. 24.

Swift quickly took a liking to attending Kelce's games, befriending his longtime friends like Aric Jones and Ross Travis, and bonding with Brittany Mahomes, whose husband is Kelce's close friend and teammate, Patrick Mahomes.

Before long, she was bringing along some of her celeb friends, like Blake Lively, Ice Spice and Lana Del Rey, and her presence became a popular talking point of the Chiefs' season as the NFL upped coverage of the singer's attendance.

Swift would later nod to this fanfare in the performance for "So High School", which she first performed on May 9 in Paris, France.

Fans noticed that as Swift and her background dancers perform the song, they form a stadium-seating setup and each dancer's pose mimics one of the specific photos of Swift's reactions during Kelce's games. The live performance of "So High School" also utilizes stadium lights, creating a football field-like setup for Swift's song.

Related: Is Taylor Swift's 'The Alchemy' About Travis Kelce? See the Lyrical Football References

The "Karma" singer also appears to reference the Chiefs' popular "Swag Surf" dance in her choreography. The move is a tradition among Chiefs fans as F.L.Y.’s “Swag Surfin’” plays in the stadium and everyone in the stands sways back and forth. Swift was seen doing the dance when the Chiefs played the Miami Dolphins in January 2024. 

And though it's subtle, several of Swift’s backup dancers can be seen doing a few of Kelce’s signature touchdown dances during the performance. Toward the end of the song, Swift does one of his signature moves, too, as she pretends to drive a car with one hand.

Also in the lyrics of "So High School," Swift appears to cheekily mention Kelce's penchant for football and how it differs from her life as a songwriter with the lyric, "Truth, dare, spin bottles / You know how to ball, I know Aristotle / Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto."

When Kelce and his friend Travis, 31, attended Swift's live show on May 11, Travis jokingly pretended to be playing a video game as Swift sang the lyric.

In October, the couple was spotted out and about in New York City in an outing that would also be referenced in the singer's lyrics. Swift and Kelce made surprise appearances on Saturday Night Live and were photographed holding hands in N.Y.C. as they attended the afterparty at Catch Steak.

In "So High School," Swift sings, "Get my car door, isn't that sweet? / Then pull me to the backsеat / No one's evеr had me, not like you," seemingly nodding to the video of Kelce helping her out of a car in New York City, where he was seen gesturing to her security that he could handle the task without their help.

On Nov. 11, Kelce traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to support Swift on tour. The concert was postponed due to weather, but Swift and Kelce stepped out for a date night at Elena, a restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel.

Related: All the Sweet Ways Taylor Swift Pays Tribute to Travis Kelce During the Eras Tour

The following day, Kelce was spotted dancing and singing along at her show as he sat with the singer's dad in the VIP section. The show would mark the first time that Swift swapped lyrics in her final song of the show, "Karma," to reference her romance with the NFL star.

The original lyric goes: "Karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me," which Swift cleverly changed to "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs."

After the Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens during the AFC Championship Game and secured their spot in Super Bowl LVIII in February, Swift joined Kelce on the field to celebrate, creating additional moments that she seemingly references on her new album. The couple packed on the PDA and Swift was seen whispering something sweet to her boyfriend as cameras surrounded them.

The Chiefs' 2024 Super Bowl win became a major moment for the couple as Swift brought along her family and closest friends, including her parents, and celebrated with Kelce on the field. After the win, the couple was spotted exchanging loving kisses as she told Kelce that the game was "unbelievable" and "electric" after he earned his third ring.

Fans speculate that Swift nods to that Super Bowl moment in her song, "The Alchemy." The clever songstress further fueled that theory when she performed it on April 12 in Paris with Kelce in attendance during the surprise song portion of her show, the only time she veers off her usual track list.

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Before she played the song, which includes lyrics like, "Where the trophy? He just comes, running over me," Swift noted that the show was her 87th of the tour – a nod to Kelce's jersey number.
"So when I touch down/ Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team/ Ditch the clowns, get the crown/ Baby I'm the one to beat," she sings on the track.

Swift also showed love and support for Kelce and the Chiefs that night by incorporating the teams' signature yellow and red colors in her live show.

Many fans in attendance at her Paris shows noted that the lights on the stage (and seemingly the lights on people’s bracelets) turn yellow and red during "So High School," and Swift sported a red and yellow two-piece outfit for the show Kelce attended.

During the weekend show at the Paris La Défense Arena on Sunday, which marked Swift's fourth and final night there, Kelce cheered her on from the crowd and was joined by Bradley Cooper and Gigi Hadid.

Soon, he'll begin training camp for the upcoming NFL season as Swift takes her tour to Sweden, Portugal and Spain.

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