Current:Home > FinanceFastexy Exchange|As Taylor Swift cheers for Travis Kelce and Chiefs, some Eagles fans feel 'betrayed' -VisionFunds
Fastexy Exchange|As Taylor Swift cheers for Travis Kelce and Chiefs, some Eagles fans feel 'betrayed'
NovaQuant Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-06 22:46:45
PHILADELPHIA — For Taylor Swift,Fastexy Exchange these days, "Karma" is "the guy on the (Kansas City) Chiefs."
That makes some Philadelphia Eagles fans wish for a dose of lower-case, not-the-song-title karma Monday night when the Chiefs host the Eagles in a rematch of Super Bowl 57. It’s also a test of the pop star’s allegiances – and people, especially Eagles fans, are paying attention.
"We all love a love story," Allie Brown, 35, from Langhorne, Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY. "And that’s great and all. But if you’re an Eagles fan, you are until the day that you die. I feel betrayed."
Over the last two months, Swift has quickly embedded herself within "Chiefs Kingdom" amid her romance with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But on her “Eras Tour" stop in Philadelphia earlier this year, Swift – a Reading, Pennsylvania, native – declared that the Eagles were indeed the lyrical reference in question for one of her tracks.
"I'm from Philly," she told the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Eagles. "Of course it's the team."
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Eagles fans, even those who double as "Swifties," wondered how she could possibly show her support of Kelce and the hometown squad.
"I’ve loved Taylor Swift my whole life," said Mia Guerrera, 23, from Ventnor, New Jersey. "I think that when you get in a relationship, you got to support your boyfriend 100%, but it is a little bit of a betrayal."
Guerrera said there were no negative feelings toward Swift – just unfortunate circumstances.
"I kind of respect it," she said. "I get it. Also, ‘Go Birds.’"
Swift started the South American leg of her tour this month and changed the lyrics of "Karma" to shout out Kelce, who was in attendance in Argentina. (Her father, Scott Swift, also set the Eagles aside momentarily by wearing a Chiefs-branded lanyard at the show.) Rumors of a potential Swift appearance at Arrowhead Stadium for Monday's game petered out when her concert in Brazil scheduled for Sunday was postponed a day due to excessive heat.
But if she were to show up, at least one Eagles fan had a request for Swift’s attire.
"I would expect her to have a Donna Kelce jersey," Guerrera said, "half and half."
Jason Kelce, the Eagles center and older brother of Travis, said on the duo's "New Heights" podcast over the summer that perhaps Travis’ attempt to give the singer a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it was unsuccessful because Swift maintained hard feelings from the result of the Super Bowl, a 38-35 Kansas City victory.
"I think she should go to the Chiefs games wearing a Kelce jersey," said Sarah Pao, from Atlantic City, New Jersey. "But a Jason jersey, not a Travis one."
Swift is one of many famous Eagles fans. President Joe Biden, Kevin Hart, Bradley Cooper, Miles Teller, Will Smith and Sylvester Stallone are just a few.
"I personally think that she should be an Eagles fan – because ‘Go Birds,’" Pao said. "It’s kind of fake of her. But I love her at the same time."
The public declaration during Swift’s May concert – fans tailgated with the same enthusiasm as an Eagles game, with those who couldn’t secure tickets for one of three nights hanging out in the parking lot to hear her perform from afar – was unfortunate timing.
"In her concert, she straight up told us that she was an Eagles fan," Brown said. "So I feel like you’re a ride or die forever."
There is a caveat. With this relationship, there always is.
"I do love Travis Kelce," Brown said. "Everybody loves him. He’s so adorable.
"I’m all about the brotherly love. But if you’re an Eagles fan, you’re an Eagles fan. It’s cheating."
Travis Kelce’s fraternal bond to the Eagles and the city helped him develop a popular reputation among Philadelphia fans.
Only to see one of their own link up with him.
"I loved Travis Kelce first," Courtney Redcross, 25, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY.
Redcross is not a fan of Swift or her music. And an Eagles fan with no reason to show Swift some grace takes a hardline stance when it comes to loyalty.
"It’s great that she’s saying publicly she’s an Eagles fan, but we don’t care," Redcross said. "You need to show your support. You need to be at the tailgates, mingling with people. Not at Chiefs games. And the fact that she’s wearing Chiefs attire? It’s disgusting.
"It’s disheartening that she’s from here and going to Chiefs games."
For Eryn Albright, a 22-year-old from Philadelphia, dating a professional athlete means you have to cheer for their team.
"You can’t blame her," Albright told USA TODAY. "I feel like when she comes home, she’s still an Eagles fan."
Brown said Swift deserves "her happy ending."
"I hope (Kelce) can give it to her," she said.
And doesn’t everybody deserve that?
"Not when you’re a Birds fan," Pao said.
veryGood! (34)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Israel wants to evict man from his beachfront cave home of 50 years
- Climate-driven floods will disproportionately affect Black communities, study finds
- Ariana DeBose Will Do Her Thing Once More as Host of the 2023 Tony Awards
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- In Orlando, a mountain of coal ash evades EPA rules. It's not the only one.
- Europe has designs on making the 'fast fashion' industry more sustainable
- The U.S. may soon export more gas to the EU, but that will complicate climate goals
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- The world's insect population is in decline — and that's bad news for humans
Ranking
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Cary Elwes Addresses Possibility of a Princess Bride Reboot
- Asmeret Asefaw Berhe: How can soil's superpowers help us fight climate change?
- More than 50 million people in the U.S. are under excessive heat warnings
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas
- Could the world become too warm to hold Winter Olympics?
- Biden declares disaster in New Mexico wildfire zone
Recommendation
Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
Sabrina Carpenter Cancels Portland Concert Due to “Credible Threat”
Our roads are killing wildlife. The new infrastructure law aims to help
Thousands evacuate worst Australian floods in decades
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Cerberus, heat wave named for dog that guards Greek mythology's underworld, locks its jaws on southern Europe
American Chris Eubanks stuns in Wimbledon debut, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach quarter finals
What are El Niño and La Niña and how do they affect temperatures?