Thirty-two seconds. Four times and 32 seconds.
That’s how much TV time Taylor Swift had during the Chiefs/Ravens football game on January 28. (Thank you, New York Times, for this research)
Later, as she walked out to the field after the game, visibly excited, a woman screamed, “TAYLOR, YOU RUINED FOOTBALL.”
On Facebook the next morning, the first thing I saw was a “joke” from a man I know (who is a very nice person) showing a man pouring Tabasco in his eyes and the words, “Every time the NFL shows Taylor Swift.”
Remember this summer when the Eras Tour was in full force? It was so fun to see all the parents—moms AND dads—going to concerts. Adults decked out with friendship bracelets taking their kids to shows. I remember lots of memes circulating of celebrity dads excitedly dancing with their daughters at the shows.
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I don’t know for certain, but I’d be willing to bet if such dads were shown on the big screen at an Eras Tour concert (four different times for a total of 32 seconds) people would cheer. People would be kind. I never heard of any outrage about these dads stealing the show or ruining the Eras Tour.
My daughter is six. She loves two things very much: our therapy horse in training, Syver, and Taylor Swift.
Our family created a nonprofit to include more people of all abilities in the horse community. My daughter wants to run it one day. Sometimes we have dads out to the barn with their families, and the dads are often really nervous around our horse. No one is kinder or more reassuring to these nervous dads, who feel very out of place with horses than my daughter and Syver. By the end of a visit, the dads are so cute. You can tell they loved it. They tried something new—which is hard—and it went great. Maybe they thought they wouldn’t fit in or wouldn’t be accepted, but my daughter put them right at ease.
After the Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC Championship the other night, my daughter was so excited. (All my kids were.) She started watching Chiefs games hoping to see Taylor, but now she “really likes number 10.” She also likes watching the games. When the game ended, she proudly FaceTimed her uncle, telling him she wanted to have a Super Bowl party, would he come? He was the first person she thought to call. Her 6’3″, sports-loving, college football-playing, 30-year-old uncle. My middle son, who loves cooking, excitedly brainstormed what kind of food he could make for the party.
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If you are a diehard football fan because you love the game, it’s your thing, you’re invested—isn’t this exactly what you want? To share your passion with others? For others to see, in football, what you see? Even if you aren’t a “Swiftie,” could you put up with 32 seconds out of your game for my daughter? She really likes seeing Taylor, but I swear she’s almost as excited now about “number 10.”
Because I know—I KNOW—if you went to a Taylor Swift concert, you’d be welcome. Even if you were new to her music and didn’t know the words, you’d be “allowed.”
People wouldn’t make jokes about you or yell mean things at you.
I KNOW if you came to our barn to visit our horse, whether it took you two minutes or 20 to warm up, to get used to the horse, to feel comfortable—the person there rooting you on would be my daughter. She’d be excited to share her love of horses with you.
Maybe you could try this approach too when it comes to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? For my daughter, and for all the kids like her who started watching for Taylor, but stayed because they love football, just like you.