Love her, hate her, love to hate her, there is no denying that Taylor Swift is one of, if not the, biggest musical artists of our time. Just when you thought she had done it all - four time Album of the Year winner at the Grammys; artist behind the highest grossing tour of all time; star of the movie musical Cats - she has now turned her hand to becoming a prevalent face in American football, much to some NFL fans’ dismay. However, whatever your opinion on Swift is, I can only see this as a positive thing for the future of American football. 

 

Swift’s presence at recent Kansas City Chiefs games has undoubtedly brought a new - predominantly young and female - audience to NFL matches. Yes, they might currently only be watching for the camera cuts to Swift cheering Travis Kelce on from the stands, but with only 54 seconds (a mere 0.36%) of Sunday’s Super Bowl coverage showing her, the Swifties will actually be spending the majority of their time watching the game unfold. This will most likely lead to many actually becoming invested in, and enjoying, the game. Don’t believe me? Take it from the girl that slowly but surely became football obsessed (football in the English sense of the word that is, ‘soccer’ for those that are that way inclined). I used to begrudgingly spend my precious Saturday or Sunday afternoons watching the Arsenal matches with my dad, just so he had a bit of company. No one likes watching a football match on their own. But, as the weeks went by I started to actually really enjoy it and I went from the girl who used to call half-time ‘the interval’ to a die-hard Gunner. Cut me open and Arsenal bleeds out. I truly believe that many Swifties will have a similar experience and go on a journey from being NFL novices to genuine fans. But that can only happen if they are allowed to exist in a welcoming environment - one they have not thus far been offered by many more established American football fans. 

 

I would understand the anger if the focus on Swift was taking time away from the actual gameplay. But American football games have always been supported by a whole host of non-football action: the kiss cam; the endless number of ad breaks; the gaps between plays - I could go on. In fact, studies have estimated that the average NFL game only has around 18 minutes of actual gameplay. When the ball is live, Swift is nowhere to be seen. She isn’t being prioritised over the game. Football fans aren’t missing any of the action. So where is all of this anger stemming from? Surely football fans should be happy about the increase in viewership? This year’s Super Bowl was the most watched broadcast in the US since man landed on the moon in 1969. They should be - dare I say it - over the moon! It’s time for football fans to jump on the Taylor Swift shaped bandwagon and harness this sudden increase in interest to grow their community even more.

 

Maybe football fans need to have a bit more faith in the quality of the sport that they dedicate eighteen weeks out of their year to watching. Why are they so convinced that the Swifties will soon lose interest? Why do they not believe that watching Chiefs games week in and week out will lead to the emergence of a new group of devoted fans? Why are they not trying to capitalise on this newfound interest and grow the love of the game they themselves love? 

 

However, the reaction against the newfound interest in football among Swifties is hardly surprising. There has been a long history of sexism towards female NFL fans. Whether it is Cris Collinsworth (ex-Cincinnati Bengals player turned NBC commentator) patronisingly claiming to be ‘blown away’ at the level of understanding some women he met had of the game, or the lack of decisive action multiple NFL teams have taken over reports of their players sexually harassing women, football has failed time and time again to be a welcoming space for female fans. The sudden interest in football from Swift’s predominantly female fan base has offered the NFL a valuable chance to deviate from history and I urge football fans to not scupper this opportunity. 

 

There are two ways this newfound interest could go: Taylor Swift fans get bored of her very limited airtime and stop watching the games entirely, or through watching week in and week out they become genuinely invested in the game rather than who is in the stands. The latter is surely more appealing to football fans everywhere. It will only happen, however, if established fans give new fans the space to learn to love the game. Football fans must not meet new fans with patronising challenges (for example, ‘name twelve different players, all of them coming from different teams’, or ‘what team won the Super Bowl in 1968?’). Instead of ridiculing or mocking them, they need to welcome new fans with open arms. Indeed, Swift has a far more international fanbase than American football does. Perhaps her presence at the games is the chance the NFL has been looking for to finally meaningfully break into the international sphere. 

 

Until Taylor Swift’s presence at games genuinely starts to undermine the quality of sporting coverage, it is nonsensical for NFL fans to be hostile to her presence. Surely growth and expansion of the game you love is what any sporting fan wants. This is a chance for the NFL to become a more welcoming, equal, diverse organisation and football fans should be delighted, not irate.