Jason Kelce Defends Travis Kelce From Taylor Swift Game Day Criticism

Long before Taylor Swift's attendance astatine the Kansas City Chief's Sept. 24, 2023 crippled became 1 of the definitive popular civilization moments of the year, Travis Kelce was an admirer of the Grammy winner. 

The prima choky end's involvement successful Taylor was archetypal revealed by 1 of his teammates successful a TikTok video posted by the Chiefs successful August 2023 (which, successful hindsight, was erstwhile the brace were secretly dating). 

Before Travis could reply the punctual of who his personage crush was, wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling spilled, "Taylor Swift!"

Travis smiled astatine the camera earlier holding his digit up to his moustache, saying, "Alright now!"

Plus, Travis was conscionable 1 of galore celebs to be Taylor's record-breaking Eras Tour adjacent before they kicked disconnected their yearlong romance. But much connected that enchanting infinitesimal successful a bit...

While helium does person that daydream look successful his eyes (especially erstwhile helium sees Taylor connected the big-screen astatine 1 of his games), Travis stands retired a spot erstwhile you look backmost astatine Taylor’s dating history.

She is typically attracted to originative types, including actors (Joe Alwyn, Jake Gyllenhaal, Taylor Lautner and Tom Hiddleston) and musicians (Calvin Harris, John Mayer, Harry Styles and, astir recently, Matty Healy).

But possibly that’s wherefore her romance with the lighthearted and cheeky athlete—who signed an updated two-year woody with the Chiefs worthy $34.25 cardinal successful 2024—feels similar specified a refreshing enactment for Taylor aft her six-year uber-private narration with Joe came to an extremity successful April 2023. 

Looks similar the eight-time Pro Bowler’s wishes came existent aft helium each but manifested his rumored romance with the superstar done sheer will, determination and declarations of infatuation. 

Travis publically aired his failed effort to sprout his changeable and speech to Taylor erstwhile helium attended the Kansas City halt connected her Eras Tour July 7, 2023. As it turns out, helium had a peculiar acquisition for her: A relationship bracelet bearing his "number" that helium hoped to springiness Taylor. (He wouldn't decidedly accidental if it was his jersey fig oregon telephone number.)

Despite his assertion that helium was "disappointed" helium failed to conscionable her aft the concert, Taylor confirmed to TIME that she belatedly caught his podcast pass.

"Travis precise adorably enactment maine connected blast connected his podcast, which I thought was metallic arsenic hell," she recalled. "We started hanging retired close aft that. So we really had a important magnitude of clip that nary 1 knew, which I'm grateful for, due to the fact that we got to get to cognize each other."

So, that full mentation astir the Sept. 24 crippled being their archetypal authoritative hang? As Taylor clarified to TIME, "We would ne'er beryllium psychotic capable to hard motorboat a archetypal date." 

Since her breakup with Joe, Taylor has been seen successful nationalist much frequently, including outings with friends successful NYC and jubilant appearances astatine grant shows, like the 2023 MTV VMAs and the 2024 Grammys.

But her astir talked-about appearance? Sitting successful Travis' suite astatine the Chief's Sept. 24, 2023 location crippled against the Chicago Bears.

Rather than shy distant from the attention, Taylor cheered and screamed "Let's f--king go!" erstwhile Travis scored a touchdown. Like the public, adjacent Travis admitted helium was caught off-guard by Taylor accepting his invite.

"Shoutout to Taylor for pulling up, that was beauteous ballsy," Travis said during the Sept. 27 occurrence of the New Heights podcast. "I conscionable thought it was awesome however everyone successful the suite had thing but large things to accidental astir her, the friends and family."

"She looked amazing," helium added. " It was decidedly a crippled I volition remember, that's for damn sure."

Since then, Taylor and Travis person been photographed hand-in-hand connected dates each astir the satellite and person made aggregate visits to a Christmas barroom successful Kansas City, wherever they were not shy astir PDA.

And, aft revealing to TIME that she retreated from the spotlight when Kim Kardashian's infamous leaked telephone telephone successful 2016, Taylor is going retired tonight...and each night, if she wants to, convey you precise much.

"Life is short," she said. "Have adventures. Me locking myself distant successful my location for a batch of years—I’ll ne'er get that clip back. I’m much trusting present than I was six years ago.”

While Travis isn't acrophobic to spill immoderate beverage connected his Sept. 27, 2023 podcast regarding his interactions with Taylor, helium inactive expressed his boundaries astir addressing his idiosyncratic beingness moving forward.

"I cognize I brought each this attraction to me," helium explained. "I did the full relationship bracelet happening and told everyone however butthurt I was that I didn't get to conscionable Taylor." However, helium continued, helium didn't program to springiness a afloat play-by-play of their relationship. 

"What's existent is that it is my idiosyncratic beingness and I privation to respect some of our lives," helium explained. "I'm enjoying beingness and I definite arsenic hellhole enjoyed this weekend. So everything moving forward, I deliberation maine talking astir sports and saying 'alright nah' volition person to beryllium wherever I support it."

He doubled-down connected his tendency to play it chill in a November 2023 interrogation with the Wall Street Journal.

"Everybody astir maine telling me: Don't f--k this up! And maine sitting present saying: Yeah—got it," helium told the outlet, earlier addressing the media attention. "That was the biggest happening to me: marque definite I don't accidental thing that would propulsion Taylor away."

But that doesn't mean he's been capable to defy publically talking astir his girlfriend—crediting her for the boost successful income of his jersey and calling her "amazing" aft she was booed by New England Patriots fans astatine his Dec. 17 game.

"I've ne'er been a antheral of words," helium admitted to WSJ. "Being astir her, seeing however astute Taylor is, has been f--king mind-blowing. I'm learning each day." 

Like Taylor, who is adjacent with her parents, peculiarly her parent Andrea, Travis hails from a tight-knit fam, including his parents Ed and Donna Kelce.

Donna became a beloved nationalist fig erstwhile she became the archetypal parent to person 2 sons playing against each different successful a Super Bowl, erstwhile Travis faced disconnected against his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles halfway Jason Kelce, successful the large crippled successful February 2023.

"For each the stars to align and for them to get done precocious schoolhouse and assemblage and the pros. And for them to some play successful the Pro Bowl and to play successful the Super Bowl, and past for this to happen," Donna told ET astatine the time. "This is conscionable similar a imagination travel true. I can't explicit capable however peculiar this is for the household and it's conscionable crazy."

Donna, who was joined to Ed for 25 years earlier they divorced, supported some of her sons by wearing a half-black, half-red Eagles and Chiefs jacket.

After the Super Bowl, which saw the Chiefs champion the Eagles, Travis and Jason got affectional portion reflecting connected sharing the acquisition with Donna.

"The infinitesimal I saw ma is erstwhile I got truly emotional," Jason said connected the brothers' New Heights podcast. "It was truthful awesome...She was connected apical of the satellite for a week."

"She was the heavyweight champ man," Travis added. "She was connected apical of it, and she shined the full time."

Like Taylor and her younger member Austin Swift, Travis has a peculiar enslaved with his older member Jason, who inspired him to play football. 

In summation to their awesome careers arsenic NFL players, Travis and Jason launched their podcast New Heights successful September 2022, a task that has lone strengthened their narration (and their slope accounts). 

"What this did was gave america a scheduled 2 to 3 hr model wherever we person to speech to each different and we person to speech astir what we're going through, passim the week and passim the games," Travis told NBC Sports successful February 2023. "It's astir been similar therapy, man."

Sure, the brace technically ne'er met until 2023, but there person been a fewer invisible strings tying them together.

Taylor and Travis some number Miles Teller arsenic a friend, with the Top Gun: Maverick star and his woman Keleigh Sperry adjacent being recruited by Taylor to prima successful the euphony video for "I Bet You Think About Me" off Red (Taylor's Version) successful 2021.

Travis, meanwhile, joined Miles and Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes for golfing signifier up of the American Century Championship successful 2022.

Miles tweeted a photograph of himself connected the play people with the athletes, writing, "Grip it and rip it." Travis proved the bromance was existent erstwhile helium reposted the changeable and added, "Back astatine it similar we ne'er left!!"

(Interestingly enough, Miles is simply a noted diehard Philadelphia Eagles fans, truthful possibly helium enactment successful a connection with Jason to broker an IRL meet-up betwixt Travis and Taylor?)

While Taylor attended the Sept. 24, 2023 crippled solo, she brought an entourage of personage friends with her erstwhile she attended the Chiefs' match-up against the New York Jets astatine New Jersey's Metlife Stadium connected Oct. 1.

She was accompanied by BFFs Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and his person Hugh Jackman, arsenic good arsenic Sophie Turner, Sabrina Carpenter and Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski.

While their attendance astatine the crippled spoke volumes, adjacent much telling was Ryan pursuing Travis connected Instagram.

Not lone has Travis played successful 4 Super Bowls, winning 3 of them (NBD!), but he's besides hosted Saturday Night Live, truthful you cognize helium tin grip aggravated spotlight with ease. 

That whitethorn look trivial, but Taylor has penned respective songs regarding her fearfulness that her level of fame could beryllium to beryllium excessively overmuch for her romanticist spouse to handle. (See: "Peace" and "The Archer.") 

"It each depends who you're with," Taylor said in, "If they person a superior contented with it, I conjecture you'll fell oregon whatever, but I don't truly similar that, due to the fact that it makes maine consciousness similar I'm moving from the instrumentality oregon something. I don't privation to consciousness similar a fugitive, like, 'Oh my god, we're having a relationship, amended hide!'

"I consciousness similar if you tin beryllium successful a narration and person it look normal, that would beryllium good." 

And successful his WSJ interview, Travis proved he's much than acceptable for the unit that comes with dating idiosyncratic arsenic almighty arsenic Taylor.

"Obviously I've ne'er dated anyone with that benignant of aura astir them...I've ne'er dealt with it," he said. "But astatine the aforesaid time, I'm not moving distant from immoderate of it."

"The scrutiny she gets, however overmuch she has a magnifying solid connected her, each azygous day, paparazzi extracurricular her house, extracurricular each edifice she goes to, aft each formation she gets off, and she's conscionable living, enjoying life," helium added. "When she acts similar that I amended not beryllium the 1 acting each strange."

Further proving their emotion is worthy of a rom-com treatment, fans were swooning aft a concertgoer captured video of Taylor running into Travis' arms and exchanging a passionate kiss aft performing successful Argentina Nov. 11. And that was aft she changed the lyrics successful Karma from "the feline connected the screen" to "the feline connected the Chiefs," overmuch to Travis' astonishment arsenic helium attended alongside her father, Scott Swift.

Turning retired for 1 another's stadium takeovers—Taylor attended 13 Chiefs games past season, traveling consecutive from her Tokyo amusement to marque the Super Bowl—is a amusement of however superior their narration is.

"I'm going to spot him bash what helium loves, we're showing up for each other, different radical are determination and we don't care," Taylor told TIME of their nationalist support. "The other of that is you person to spell to an utmost magnitude of effort to marque definite nary 1 knows that you're seeing someone. And we're conscionable arrogant of each other."

And if her beingness astatine the NFL games annoys you, well, Taylor can't adjacent beryllium bothered to person atrocious humor with you. 

"There's a camera, like, a half-mile away, and you don't cognize wherever it is, and you person nary thought erstwhile the camera is putting you successful the broadcast, truthful I don't cognize if I'm being shown 17 times oregon once," she said. "I'm conscionable determination to enactment Travis. I person nary consciousness of if I'm being shown excessively overmuch and pissing disconnected a fewer dads, Brads, and Chads."