For those of you who are just a little tired of the Travis-and-Taylor show, it’s heartening to know that at least one of the principals is getting a bit tired of it, too.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, please know how much I envy you as a human being. For the rest of us, the two-week period between the AFC and NFC championship games and the Super Bowl has been focused on three things: Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, international pop icon Taylor Swift, and their relationship.
Oh yeah, there’s another team and a whole bunch of other players and celebrities who will be at Sunday’s game, too, although you may not have caught that through the coverage.
Did San Francisco win the NFC title? The Detroit Lions? The Oklahoma Outlaws? Whatever — what’s really important is Travis, Taylor, and reaction shots of Taylor cheering on Travis.
And now, we even have reporters openly speculating about whether Kelce will propose to Swift at the Super Bowl.
According to a January report in the New York Post’s Page Six gossip section, sources are saying the celebrity couple plans to get engaged this summer: “Taylor and Travis discussed it, and there is a plan,” an insider told the newspaper. “They will get engaged on their one-year anniversary in July.”
I’m not sure how reliable that source is, but Page Six does get more than its fair share right. That being said, if you live in the contiguous 48 states and/or Alaska, I have a test for you: Open your window and stick your arm out. Does it feel like July?
No? Oh. Then the couple probably won’t get engaged at the Super Bowl, at least according to the Post. That didn’t stop the paper from publishing a story with this headline earlier in the week: “Travis Kelce asked about proposing to Taylor Swift at Super Bowl 2024 as rumors swirl.”
Those rumors militate against a Super Bowl engagement, but whatever. You take what Travis-and-Taylor coverage you can get, I suppose.
Do you like Travis Kelce’s answer?
The question came on Monday, when an unidentified reporter asked Kelce: “Is there going to be another ring besides the Super Bowl ring if you win this thing on Sunday?”
“I’m focused on getting this (Super Bowl) ring, and that’s all my mind’s focused on right now,” Kelce responded.
Reporter:: Is there going to be another ring if you besides the Super Bowl ring if you win in Sunday?
Travis Kelce: I’m focused on getting this ring avid that’s all my mind’s focused on. pic.twitter.com/wSbSpK4Olr
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 5, 2024
That’s the answer most NFL fans — you know, those who are focused on the game — want to hear.
Kelce went on to praise Swift’s fourth Album of the Year win at the Grammys this past Sunday, making her a 14-time winner at the awards in total.
“She’s unbelievable,” Kelce said, according to the New York Post. “She’s rewriting the history books. I told her I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain and bring home some hardware, too.”
Right, because, remember? There is a game to be played on Sunday with 22 players on the field at all times, at least 21 of whom won’t be dating Taylor Swift.
In fact, it’s not even clear whether Swift will attend the game: Kelce said it was an “if” proposition, given that she will finish a concert in Tokyo as part of her Eras Tour on Saturday and would need to take a trans-oceanic flight to get to the big game in Las Vegas, which will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the whole point of Sunday is the Super Bowl ring, not any potential engagement ring that might be exchanged between Mr. Kelce and Miss Swift. Maybe that kind of cheap stunt works for an anonymous college player who’s dating a cheerleader on his team after they win the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, or whatever.
The Super Bowl is a different animal, particularly when it involves the most famous pop star in the world and her also-famous boyfriend. Swift likely would find the proposal to be a humiliating stunt, and Kelce seems to think that even asking about it is an idiotic distraction.
Unfortunately, that seems to sum up most of the Super Bowl coverage thus far, particularly as it concerns romantic interests.
Sunday afternoon cannot come quickly enough.
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