By DAVE SKRETTA | AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Pop superstar Taylor Swift was back at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night to watch Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Denver Broncos, one day after walking the red carpet at the premiere of her concert movie.
Swift and Kelce have been in a budding relationship the past few weeks, ever since the All-Pro tight end invited her to a game when he failed to meet her during her Eras Tour. Swift took him up on his offer late last month, watching the Chiefs beat the Bears from an Arrowhead Stadium suite, then attending the Chiefs’ road win over the New York Jets.
Swift was absent last Sunday at Minnesota, when Kelce hurt his ankle in a win over the Vikings. The injury at first appeared to be serious, but Kelce finished out the game, practiced a bit this week and was active Thursday night against the Broncos.
Swift showed up wearing a red Chiefs jacket, a significant wardrobe swap from the floral Oscar de la Renta gown she wore at the premiere of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” The concert film had its debut Wednesday night at The Grove in Los Angeles, where guests included Beyonce, Maren Morris, Adam Sandler and Mariska Hargitay.
“I can’t thank you enough for wanting to see this film that so vividly captures my favorite adventure I’ve ever been a part of: The Eras Tour,” Swift wrote on Instagram. “And the best part is, it’s an adventure we’re still on together.”
The NFL has jumped on the pop cultural moment, promoting Swift’s newfound passion for Kelce and the Chiefs on social media and elsewhere. League spokesman Brian McCarthy made sure to point out that it was in no way “orchestrated by the NFL,” but their relationship — however serious it might be — has nevertheless been good for business.
An average of nearly 27 million viewers tuned into the Chiefs-Jets game, including many Swifties wanting to catch a glimpse of their icon, which NBC Sports said made it the most-watched Sunday TV show since the Chiefs beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl in February.
Swift and Kelce have both been mum about the extent of their relationship, though he was seen exiting her New York apartment before the game against the Jets. Kelce did acknowledge that “everybody is having fun with it” while speaking to reporters about two weeks ago, adding: “You’ve got a lot of people that care about Taylor and for good reason.”
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