Taylor Swift’s debut appearance at Travis Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs game not only shocked the world but the athletes themselves.
“My first response was, ‘That’s pretty cool,’ so I walked up to Trav in the game and we were on the sideline and I just said, ‘Hey man, that’s cool she’s here,’” Chiefs long snapper James Winchester recalled during the Wednesday, May 8, episode of the “Like a Farmer” podcast about Swift’s debut September 2023 appearance in the stands. “He’s like, ‘Wait, what do you mean? Did they put her up on the Jumbotron or something?’”
Winchester, 34, then explained that equipment manager Jay White had alerted him to Swift’s arrival.
“[I told Travis], ‘Jay just told me right there. That’s awesome, man, good for you,’” Winchester added on Wednesday. “He’s just kind of smiling, like, kind of blushing.”
Kelce, 34, first expressed interest in Swift, also 34, the previous July, lamenting on his “New Heights” podcast that he felt “butthurt” they weren’t able to meet — and exchange phone numbers — when he went to see her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.
Swift later heard Kelce’s “metal as hell” comments, per her TIME 2023 Person of the Year profile, and reached out. They started privately seeing one another, publicly confirming their romance when she went to the Chiefs vs. Bears home game at KC’s Arrowhead Stadium.
Swift watched the game — in which Travis even scored a touchdown — from a private suite with his friends and mom Donna Kelce. After the game, the couple left the stadium in a getaway car (a.k.a. Travis’ convertible) together.
“Later on, we’re walking up the ramp and him and her go get in the cart, so we’re walking by and made some jokes to him on the way,” Winchester recalled. “Later that night, [we] got to meet her and the first thing she said [was], ‘Hey, you’re the guys with the cute kids, because we had my son and daughter out on the field. I’m like, ‘Dang, I think I just became a T. Swift fan.”
Winchester has since become a major fan of Swift after “being around her this year” when she attended 13 Chiefs games and bonded with Travis’ inner circle during off-days. Winchester added that “all the women in [his] family,” including wife Emily, also went to the Missouri Eras show and marveled over Swift’s talent, are major Swifties as well.
“She’s such a genuine person,” Winchester added. “You know, it might have gotten old for a lot of people seeing all that posted [online], but for us, it was great. It wasn’t a distraction. [I] couldn’t be happier for Trav and her and that whole deal seems like a really good thing [for them].”
Swift even flew 13 hours from Japan in February to watch Travis and the Chiefs play in the Super Bowl. After they won, Swift congratulated her boyfriend on the field with a kiss.
With Travis now in his NFL offseason, he’s been able to support her on the road for her international Eras concerts. Swift has been on hiatus since March — shows resume Thursday, May 9, in Paris — and has been able to relax with Travis on the West Coast.
A source previously told Us Weekly in April that Swift and Travis “deepened their bond” during their respective downtime, noting they have been “making the most of the time they have together.”
