It’s no question why Taylor Swift is the center of almost everyone’s attention right now. She holds a unique position in celebrity culture—she is not only a fourteen-time Grammy winner but also the only artist in history to have four consecutive albums sell over one million copies in their week of release.

“The Eras Tour” has gone on to be one of the highest-grossing music tours ever, according to Guinness World Records, as it passed $1 billion in revenue in December.

During the breaks between her Eras Tour shows in Sept. to Dec. 2023, Swift has been supporting her boyfriend, National Football League superstar Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs throughout most Chiefs broadcasts.

The pair were first rumored to be talking last July after Kelce attended the U.S. leg of “The Eras Tour” and attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his number on it. Celebrity gossip sites shared that they had been “quietly hanging out” between the time period of July to September.

“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… So I was a little butt-hurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” said Travis on the July 26 episode of the New Heights podcast, a show the Kelce brothers host together.

But if you’re a Swiftie like me, you’ve seen the claims that her mere presence is ‘ruining football’ and the experience of watching it, despite her attendance at NFL games resulting in a spike in viewership, particularly from the female audience.

Many have seen the video of Swift leaving the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game hand-in-hand with Kelce on Jan. 28.

Following the game, one person in attendance is caught on camera yelling at Swift, “You’re ruining football!” Others also yell expletives at her while the pair walks by.

So… why is this exactly? So far, her attendance at NFL games has really only resulted in positive press for not only the Chiefs, but others are using the moment to praise Swift for her star power and support at the games.

“She’s bringing in more viewership to the NFL while taking up less than 1% of screentime,” said Royce Garcia, a Fresno State student. “The people, yes, not just men, upset about her presence are exhibiting internalized misogyny and gatekeeping a space that they feel entitled to.”

Her frequent appearances at games are, for some reason, a big deal to a lot of people.

In December, she was booed while attending a Chiefs vs. Patriots game, then was the subject of not very funny “jokes” on the topic at the Golden Globes. And, yes, people online said she was overreacting for not laughing, too. Famous women just have to take disrespect with a smile, I guess?

Well, no, because this isn’t the first time the media has gotten mad at Swift.

As most people know, Taylor Swift was at the top of the world in 2015. Her tour for the “1989” album was the highest-grossing tour of the year. The “Bad Blood” music video won Video of the Year and Best Collaboration at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.

Of course, this is why we can’t have nice things—her overexposure in the media came to a head when her career was put on what was, at the time, an indefinite pause following the Kanye West and Kim Kardashian drama in 2016.

In her Time Person of the Year interview, Swift called it a “career death” and said, “Make no mistake—my career was taken away from me.”

It seems as though history might be repeating itself as Swift enters a brand-new level of popularity with Kelce as her new boyfriend.

Despite the hatred she’s been facing, the positives from her attendance at games greatly outweigh the negatives and are allowing more women influencers to properly break into the scene.

Remember the Kelce puffer jacket that Swift was spotted wearing on her way to the AFC Championship Game? The jacket was made by Kristin Juszczyk, one of the NFL wives and girlfriends (WAGs), who’s been designing custom merch for other partners of NFL players to wear for years.

“She’s been grinding for years now and working so hard,” said Kyle Juszczyk, her husband and 49ers fullback, in a video shared by The Athletic. “I’m so happy to see her get her stuff out there. Everybody sees it and recognizes it was hers.”

Not long after Swift was seen wearing her design, Juszczyk was able to score a licensing deal with the NFL to create official merchandise.

Swift’s team also commonly supports businesses local to Kansas City that sell Chiefs merch related to Kelce such as jewelry from EB and Co., and clothing from Westside Storey.

Women in the football world aren’t a rare phenomenon. The problem with Swift, specifically, is that it’s one of the first times a WAG has been shown so often.

“The amount of time an NFL broadcast is showing ‘actual football’ is minuscule in comparison to the amount of advertisements and things that aren’t ‘actual football’… [It’s just that] Taylor Swift is presenting a new type of interruption,” Garcia said.

In fact, there are, on average, more commercials in between Sunday games than there are shots of Swift.

“An average NFL broadcast lasts well over three hours, yet it delivers a total of only 18 minutes of football action… Within our sample of 10 regular-season games from this season, we found that an average NFL broadcast lasted three hours and 23 minutes and included 50 minutes of commercial breaks,” stated Kirk Goldsberry and Katherine Rowe on FiveThirtyEight, which is now under ABCNews.

The New York Times noted that Swift is normally only on screen for less than 25 seconds and her name is said by the commentators even less.

Despite her limited visibility during games, the NFL showing her on screen for even a couple of seconds is amplified and blows up online.

Her rare appearances often become exaggerated through their sensationalized coverage on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Users online get mass amounts of interactions through videos focused on her attendance, and the amplification is not only something that happens to her fans, but also extends to those who may have a negative opinion of Swift.

Some TikTokers even make a joke of it, as a majority of the NFL’s TikTok feed during Chiefs games tends to revolve around Swift.

@quazzomodo

Bryson in his Swiftie era? 🤔 #taylorswift #superbowl #traviskelce #comedy

♬ original sound – Chris Quazzo

This leads to a type of confirmation bias for those who dislike Swift.

For those who don’t favor her, seeing her presence emphasized at games only reinforces their negative perceptions and exposes her to criticism from those who may perceive her attendance as “attention-seeking.” On the other hand, fans of Swift love her being at games and many excitedly share her every move from the moment she steps foot in the stadium.

“For me, a lot of the misogyny or resistance that I’ve encountered over the years has been men feeling suspicious of ‘Why is she here? What credibility does she have? I must know more, etc.’ I think with the Taylor Swift backlash…” said Mina Kimes, an ESPN journalist, sharing her own experience as a woman in the football world. “I think they’re upset with what [Taylor’s presence] signifies… or the product is being diluted in some way. I think it’s a different phenomenon.”

Overall, the controversy reflects broader attitudes in the modern world, specifically towards women in sports and celebrity culture. Not only that, but this entire situation can serve as an example of how social media tends to distort public discourse, leading to exaggerated reactions both online and in person.

But, at the end of the day, showing her on screen is the same as showing a shirtless Jason Kelce jumping out of the box seats at the Chiefs vs. Bills game—it’s fan service.

JASON KELCE IS ALL THAT IS MAN pic.twitter.com/KKOmoiuEvq

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 22, 2024

“It is always a balance with what’s happening on the field and how you exchange what’s happening on the field,” said Rob Hyland, the coordinating producer for NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts. “It wasn’t like, ‘Hey, let’s, let’s show her this many times.’ It was, ‘Hey, when appropriate, let’s remind the audience that she’s there.’”

With the production crew at games using multiple high-powered cameras to capture shots of the game and the crowd from far away, Swift said she isn’t aware of how many times she’s shown on the broadcast, “…I don’t know if I’m being shown 17 times or once. I’m just there to support Travis. I have no awareness of if I’m being shown too much and pissing off a few dads, Brads and Chads.”

And whether the Chiefs win or lose the Super Bowl on Feb. 11, it has nothing to do with Swift, whose only “crime” is showing up to support her partner.