LAS VEGAS: Pop superstar Taylor Swift chugged a drink, bit her nails, buried her face in her hands and hugged her friends throughout a nerve-shredding Super Bowl LVIII.

At the end, it was hugs and kisses for her Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce as the world digested an epic, dynasty-creating victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Swift was central to the Super Bowl story all week, but at the conclusion of the 25-22 overtime win she was just another exhausted, ecstatic fan like so many around her, happy to share superstar billing with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — for one day at least.

Her arrival had fired an almost palpable frisson around the stadium and social media rapidly filled with pictures and video footage of the singer. The cameras followed her as she walked through the bowels of the stadium with friends Blake Lively and Ice Spice.

But while Chiefs fans, neutrals, TV viewers and legions of “Swifties” the world over were delighted by her presence, the overwhelmingly pro-49ers crowd in the stadium was perhaps understandably less enthusiastic.

Swift, who last weekend won the Grammy Award for album of the year for a record fourth time, has attended 12 Chiefs games since she began dating Kelce last year, boosting already sky-high NFL ratings.

“Taylor Swift’s association with Travis Kelce and appearances at the Chiefs game has generated an equivalent brand value of $331.5 million for the Kansas City Chiefs and the NFL” Apex President Eric Smallwood said.

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2024