Darius Slay doesn't want Taylor Swift at Eagles-Chiefs game
Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Darius Slay is sending a message loud and clear this week to artist Taylor Swift. The former Mississippi State star said on his podcast this week that he does not want Travis Kelce‘s new flame to come to Arrowhead when the Eagles are in town.
It’s not because he’s not a fan of the 33-year-old songstress, but he’s afraid she’ll provide the “winning energy” the Chiefs might need to beat Philadelphia.
“Taylor Swift, she might not miss a game this year,” Slay said. “She might not, and it looks like they’re 2-0 with her. If we play her, when we play her, I know we play them home, Taylor, do not come to the game.
“Do not come to the game. Because you seem like you bring the energy of winning, so do not come.”
Swift is highly unlikely to listen to Slay’s request, however, if the relationship with the Chiefs tight end continues throughout the season. Not only is she an Eagles fan, but the game against Kansas City would be the perfect opportunity for more bonding time with Donna Kelce who will be in attendance to watch sons Jason and Travis duke it out like they did in the Super Bowl in February.
The Chiefs and Eagles don’t meet until Nov. 20, but it will be another primetime matchup.
League goes crazy for Grammy winner Taylor Swift
Swift made all the headlines last weekend with her appearance with Donna Kelce in Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City star tight end Travis Kelce invited the singer-songwriter to the Chiefs home game after he attended one of her concerts in the same venue this summer.
A record amount of people tuned in to NBC Sunday night to see the Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) beat the New York Jets (1-3). Specifically, the biggest jump in viewership compared to previous Sunday Night Football games took place among teen girls (age 12-17) — a 53% spike from the season-to-date average of the first three weeks.
In total, the Chiefs’ 23-20 victory over the Jets garnered an average of 27 million viewers, the most-watched Sunday show since Super Bowl LVII in February. Viewership peaked at more than 29 million viewers during the second quarter.
NFL changes social media pages for Swifties
The NFL is clearly all-in on bringing Taylor Swift fans into the sport. After the Kansas City Chiefs‘ win over the Jets on Sunday night, the league’s official X and Instagram pages updated their aesthetics to point out the connection between the 12-time Grammy-winning artist.
“We had the best day with you today,” the NFL’s X account caption reads. Meanwhile, the Instagram page for the league now reads: “Chiefs are 2-0 as Swifties.” The first caption is in reference to one of Taylor Swift’s songs from the album ‘Fearless.’
Some NFL fans will not be happy about the league’s clear pandering to Swift and Chiefs fans alike, especially after Kansas City won in controversial fashion against New York.
The league even had to post a statement about how far it leaned into the hype surrounding the relationship between Kelce and Swift.
“We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally,” the NFL told PEOPLE. “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.
“The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more.”