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Arrie Flathouse took her first steps to Taylor Swift’s hit tune “Tim McGraw.”
The pop icon was a relentless a part of the now 16-year-old Arrie’s childhood as she grew up within the Houston space with two older sisters who adored Swift. Arrie got here to like Swift, too, dressing up as her for Halloween and listening to her albums.
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Arrie by no means bought a lot into soccer, although, regardless of having a mother, Kara, who spent her weekends tuned into school and NFL video games. That included video games performed by the Chiefs since Kara, like Kansas Metropolis quarterback Patrick Mahomes, is a Texas Tech alum. Regardless of Kara’s makes an attempt to get her daughters , soccer by no means clicked with Arrie, so Kara normally spent these weekend afternoons watching video games alone.
However that modified final summer season after Arrie noticed clips of the “New Heights” podcast, on which one of many hosts, Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce, described his makes an attempt to present Swift his quantity by way of a friendship bracelet.
Anybody know the best way to get a bracelet to @taylorswift13? … asking for a buddy 😅 @BWWings
New episode premieres NOW!
Faucet in: https://t.co/lmQ8fLH1IO pic.twitter.com/4yYr8HSb0m
— New Heights (@newheightshow) July 26, 2023
The little change had fairly an affect on Arrie.
Already a loyal listener to the podcast, Kara bought so excited when her daughter began speaking in regards to the Kelce clips. Over the next months, social media labored its magic, and by the point Swift confirmed as much as her first Chiefs sport in late September, Arrie was tuned in.
“That is loopy,” Arrie mentioned. “This isn’t Swifties’ theories. That is for actual. In order that’s once I began watching soccer as a result of I used to be like, ‘If she’s gonna be on the video games, I’ve bought to see her.’”
Arrie has since tuned into just about each Chiefs sport, embracing not solely the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance however your complete Kelce household. She’s watched Amazon Prime’s documentary about his brother, Eagles heart Jason Kelce, grew to become a loyal listener of the Kelce brothers’ “New Heights” podcast and even began watching Eagles video games.
“Even when Taylor will not be there, I feel I get pleasure from (the sport) much more,” mentioned Arrie, whose dad and mom promised to purchase her a Travis Kelce jersey quickly.
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Kara smiles listening to her daughter describe her newfound curiosity in a sport she bonded over together with her personal dad. Kara doesn’t wish to push too arduous, however she loves it when she sees Arrie’s head pop over the stair banister if she hears soccer on the TV. A lot to Kara’s delight, that tends to result in high quality time collectively watching video games together with her daughter. It’s additionally led to questions in regards to the sport itself.
“It’s been actually enjoyable for me,” mentioned Kara, who posted a viral video within the fall about her glee that Swift lastly transformed her daughter to a soccer fan. “I adore it.”
The Flathouse household isn’t an anomaly. Removed from it. Swift’s arrival on the soccer stage has led to numerous tales of football-loving dad and mom bonding with their Swiftie youngsters. Even Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt is listening to them.
“I often have dads come as much as me and say, ‘My 10- and 12-year-old daughters by no means used to look at soccer, however they now inform me anytime the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs are enjoying to inform them to allow them to watch,” Hunt mentioned this week in Las Vegas, the place the Chiefs are making ready to face the San Francisco 49ers in Tremendous Bowl LVIII. “I used to be at a perform somewhat over every week in the past and I had a lady, in all probability in her mid-20s, who got here as much as me, launched herself as a Swiftie and instructed me her total household is Dallas Cowboys followers and that she used to not comply with soccer in any respect, however now she’s all-in on the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs. I feel there are lots of examples like that on the market.”
One story similar to that belongs to Todd Kale, a Cowboys fan who posted a now-viral video of his 11-year-old daughter Briley reciting soccer information from the sofa.
The Kale household lives close to Houston. They’re Cowboys season-ticket holders and their 5 daughters love going to video games. They know the big-name Dallas gamers however by no means actually watched the sport with their dad, as a substitute embracing the environment of a sport day or simply having fun with consuming sizzling wings, their Sunday ritual, somewhat than partaking a lot with the precise soccer.
However Briley, the center youngster of the household, grew up a Swift fan because of her older sisters and has handed the love for Swift onto her youthful siblings. Todd wasn’t positive how Briley first discovered of Swift’s connection to Kelce, however a number of months again, he was watching a Sunday evening sport along with his spouse and realized Briley was in the lounge. She began asking questions: What’s a security? What’s a cornerback? What number of factors is a landing value?
It didn’t take lengthy for Todd to understand the place this was coming from.
“It positively intrigued her that any individual she actually likes is now concerned in one thing I actually like,” Todd mentioned.
Briley has since watched extra Chiefs video games and has picked up data in regards to the sport itself, absorbing all of it.
“It’s each dad’s dream. … She preferred soccer earlier than, however I feel she simply preferred the expertise of it,” Todd mentioned. “Now she’s studying extra in regards to the sport.”
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Swift has been a storyline all season — with Kansas Metropolis profitable 9 of the 12 video games she has attended — and the Chiefs’ Tremendous Bowl run has solely ratcheted that up a better degree.
“There’s little doubt her being a fan has put a extra intense concentrate on the staff than we might’ve had in any other case,” Hunt mentioned. “It has opened up the fan base to a complete new demographic that we actually didn’t have in younger girls. You’ve seen that in lots of methods, particularly our TV rankings. They’re much greater due to Taylor Swift being part of the staff, as Kelce says.”
Hunt’s not mistaken in regards to the TV rankings. Not solely did the common variety of viewers tuning into Chiefs regular-season prime-time video games improve this season from the earlier two (a 39.4 p.c leap in comparison with final yr alone), however so did the share of feminine viewers (up 3 p.c), in accordance with Nielsen. And that viewership leap has carried over to the postseason. The Chiefs’ divisional-round win over Buffalo averaged 50.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched divisional-round or wild-card sport ever. The Chiefs’ victory over the Ravens was the most-watched AFC Championship Recreation ever, with a median of 55.47 million viewers tuning in.
Taylor Swift has generated an equal model worth of $331.5 million for the Chiefs and the NFL, Apex Advertising Group tells FOS.
The determine consists of print, digital, radio, TV, highlights, and social media going again to Swift’s first sport in September.https://t.co/xUzMDsqIgE pic.twitter.com/Ruj5FM7g81
— Entrance Workplace Sports activities (@FOS) January 28, 2024
The league’s social media staff has performed an enormous function in ushering in new audiences, as effectively. The staff embraced Swift’s first sport in September, making an attempt to take heed to the entire new eyeballs on their feeds whereas not going overboard, mentioned Ian Trombetta, NFL SVP of social and influencer advertising and marketing.
That theme has remained constant all through the season, although the technique varies relying on the platform, Trombetta mentioned. With a few of people who skew youthful, like TikTok and Snapchat, there’s extra purpose to embrace Swifties with their posts.
“We’re additionally desirous about this within the sense of not simply what we’re posting on social media, but in addition how our companions are masking it,” Trombetta mentioned. “In order that might be a broadcast companion. That might be a sponsor, and so forth. And while you take all that into totality, it might probably get fairly, fairly sizzling simply by way of the quantity of protection. And, so for us, I feel it actually was a reminder for us to take a broader view of all of the protection and perceive our function in it.”
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Swift’s emergence onto the NFL scene has helped result in record-setting engagement, with triple-digit progress in consumption throughout numerous platforms, per Trombetta. Their viewers continues to skew youthful and diversify in male/feminine break up as effectively, he mentioned.
Swift’s Tremendous Bowl attendance is up within the air because of her Eras Tour cease in Tokyo, If Swift is there to look at Kelce’s Chiefs tackle the San Francisco 49ers, the league social staff will commit a while to her arrival and reactions, however with a lot taking place across the Tremendous Bowl between the soccer and the spectacle, it received’t simply be the Taylor Swift social feed.
“I feel we’ve gotten to the purpose now although, that by and enormous, it’s been a really celebratory factor,” Trombetta mentioned. “And positively a constructive for the league, a constructive for the Chiefs, a constructive for the Kelce household, and clearly with Travis, and I feel it’s been a constructive for Taylor as effectively. So we’ll proceed to lean into it in numerous methods, but in addition be respectful of their relationship. So not invading any privateness and trying to take cues the place a number of the strains could be on the quantity of protection and likewise maintain the sport entrance and heart. That’s actually necessary for us.”
Nonetheless, there’s little doubt the league has introduced in new followers because of Swift, because the Flathouse and Kale households can attest.
The Flathouse household on Sunday will likely be internet hosting an “I’m in My Tremendous Bowl Period” themed social gathering in honor of the Chiefs-Swift crossover.
There will likely be a large friendship bracelet garland together with appropriately themed foods and drinks, together with an “electrical” mocktail, in honor of a phrase Kelce likes to make use of loads.
However what about subsequent season when the Swift magic could have run its course? It doesn’t matter for Arrie, who plans on nonetheless tuning into NFL video games.
“I really feel like I’m hooked now,” Arrie mentioned.
— The Athletic’s Nate Taylor contributed to this report.
(Photograph illustration: Daniel Goldfarb / The Athletic;
Photographs: Jamie Squire, Patrick Smith and Sarah Stier / Getty Photos)
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