Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is sure to be at Las Vegas for the February 12 (NZ time) Super Bowl showdown with San Francisco 49ers, but whether his girlfriend, mega-pop star Taylor Swift will add some stardust to the occasion looks like a game-time decision.
Swift was in the stands cheering, and then congratulated her boyfriend with a hug and kiss, after the Chiefs' 17-10 victory over Baltimore Ravens, immediately sparking speculation whether one of the world's biggest selling recording artists will be at Allegiant Stadium.
A regular at Chiefs games all season, Swift could miss the biggest game of all, due to scheduling conflicts with her 'Eras Tour' which has her performing in Tokyo on February 10, the night before the Super Bowl.
With the time difference, Swift could get to Las Vegas for kickoff, but would then have to quickly get back on a plane for three concerts at Melbourne, Australia, staring February 16.
Some fans will fly Air Swift to the Super Bowl, after United Airlines added additional direct flights to Las Vegas from Kansas City, with specially themed Swift-related flight numbers.
The flights will be lettered UA1989 for Swift's birth year and one of her albums, UA2287 for the Grammy winner's hit song '22' and Kelce's jersey number 87, and UA1587 for Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahome's sweater numbers.
To ensure it is not seen to be taking sides, United Airlines will put on additional direct flights from San Francisco and San Jose with 49ers themes.
Two of the most powerful forces in American pop culture, the Kelce-Swift romance has been pure gold for the National Football League, spiking interest across social media and increased merchandise sales, with Swift bringing along her army of fans known as 'Swifties'.
Sports merchandise retailer Fanatics, the NFL's official e-commerce partner, says, in September, there was a nearly 400 percent spike in sales of Travis Kelce jerseys on its websites.
The fascination in the power coupleis so strong that Swift-Kelce became one of the 2023's most popular Halloween costumes.
Swift, whose fame far eclipses that of Kelce's, brings megawatt star power that is virtually unprecedented - even in the NFL. Her mere presence at Las Vegas could make the game the most-watched Super Bowl of all-time.
According to research done by Apex Marketing Group, the love story has brought millions of dollars of added brand value to the Chiefs and the NFL.
"Taylor Swift association with Travis Kelce and appearances at the Chiefs game has generated an equivalent brand value of US$331.5 million for the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL" said Apex president Eric Smallwood.
"The equivalent brand value is derived from exposure received by Swift/Chiefs from September 24."
Reuters
