Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes Says Taylor Swift Has Started “Drawing Up Plays” For The Offense

The Kansas City Chiefs are one of the most popular and most covered teams in all of professional sports. Being the defending Super Bowl Champions will do that for a team. Having won two Super Bowls in a row and three in the last five years helps even more.

Of course, the popularity of the Chiefs increased last season due to All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce making his relationship with 14-time Grammy Award winner Taylor Swift known to the public. The international popstar was a frequent attendee of Chiefs games, both at home and on the road, and brought a whole new demographic to NFL viewership.

Young women and girls.

Obviously, the NFL has always been popular with millions and millions of people, including women. That being said, the effect that Swift had on NFL viewership cannot be denied.

Taylor Swift Brought Millions of Viewers (and Dollars) to the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL

Oct 22, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Recording artist Taylor Swift waves to fans during the second half between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, the Chiefs, with their newest and most famous fan in attendance, set numerous records for viewership. The AFC Championship Game, which Kansas City won over the Baltimore Ravens, reportedly drew a record 55 million viewers.

No NFL conference championship game ever drew that many viewers.

Another report estimated that the Chiefs and NFL made an extra $330 million thanks to Swift’s presence at games.

But while the increased audience and revenue is good for the league, there is another aspect of the “Swift Effect” that does not often get talked about: brining fathers and daughters together.

Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes Says Taylor Swift Has Started Drawing Up Plays

Jan 21, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Taylor Swift celebrates after Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (not pictured) scores a touchdown in the 2024 AFC divisional round game between against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

In a recent interview with Chris Simms of NBC Sports, Mahomes was asked about his thoughts on Swift and the effect she has had on the Chiefs and the league as a whole.

Mahomes responded (via NFL.com), “I think it’s been cool to see the girls and the women that have really embraced watching football. I know being a girl dad, how cool it is for me to see like these little girls — these daughters — and how much they’re loving to spend time with their dad, watching football. And then meeting Taylor, realizing how genuine and cool she is. I think that’s been special to me because she’s, like you said, the most famous person in the world, she could not be (genuine).

“And she’s really interested in football, and she asks a lot of great questions. Started drawing up plays. We might have to put one in.”

Obviously, the Chiefs are probably not going to take any of Swift’s plays and add them to the playbook. That would be like Swift taking a Travis Kelce poem and putting it in an album. (Though Chiefs head coach Andy Reid did famously use a play idea from a janitor at Lambeau Field during his days with the Green Bay Packers).

But the effect that Mahomes is serious about are the relationships that are forming between family members. It was even the subject of a leaked Super Bowl commercial earlier this year:

As one can see in the video, daughters are depicted taking an interest in football, watching it with their dads. It is not a one-sided interest exchange, though. The dads in the video are shown wearing the famous Taylor Swift friendship bracelet, too.

This is what Mahomes is talking about: bringing people together.