As a result of growing up with two older brothers, sports has been a constant fixture in my life. I practically grew up in a hockey arena. I went to all my brothers’ high school football games and every soccer game and practice in the summer. I’ve been surrounded by all sorts of Dads, Brads and Chads my entire life and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them as upset as they seem to be when Taylor Swift goes to support her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, at his football games.
I’ve been a Kansas City Chiefs fan since February of 2020 when they were playing in the Superbowl and my brother told me that they were the team we were cheering for. He taught me all their cheers and since then, I’ve been a fan. Not a very active fan but, nonetheless, still a fan.. Now, I’ll be honest, my interest in the team has gone up ever since Taylor started dating their star tight end, just like many others. I’ve been cheering along to all their games with my brother, especially when they beat the Baltimore Ravens to make it to the Superbowl this year.
My brothers had a few friends over to watch the game and things got pretty intense. Their friends are Baltimore Ravens fans and after the Chiefs defeated them, their friends were quite wound up. I could hear them yelling that “the Chiefs only won because the NFL wants Taylor Swift at the Superbowl” and that “the entire thing is rigged for Taylor.” They’re not the only ones who were saying stuff like that. Social media was filled with angry men because Taylor Swift was shown on their screen for a whole twenty seconds! Instead of accepting the fact that sports are unpredictable, and their team unfortunately lost, they decided to lay the blame on Taylor Swift. Once again, men are blaming a woman over something that she has absolutely no control over.
I witnessed firsthand men acting out because Taylor Swift was simply at the game. After the Chiefs won and I celebrated with my brother, their friends decided that they needed to quiz me on football. Luckily for me, I knew the answer to every single question. They then proceeded to bash Taylor Swift when, once again, she had absolutely no control over the outcome of a football game. I find it so frustrating and so tiring that men constantly lay the blame on women. No matter what incident arises, men will seek out a way to blame women for it, even if we’re just merely existing like Taylor Swift in this scenario.
I’ve seen a number of videos of football fans buying her albums (all Taylor’s Version so at least there’s that) and proceeding to light them on fire or break them. Some of the Buffalo Bills fans were burning pictures of her at their tailgates and all of this leaves me with one question: why? Truly why do some of them care so much? Why does the mere presence of a successful woman make them so mad? It’s always these same men who criticize women for simply being fans of artists and yet they’re the ones having meltdowns over a woman supporting her boyfriend. This is all further proof that toxic masculinity is still alive and well in the sports community. Their irrational anger and aggressive response to Taylor Swift being at the football games only highlights the deep-rooted issues within sports culture.
As the Superbowl approaches, there’s anticipation not just for the game but for the endless complaints from some Dads, Brads and Chads. Amidst all the complaints, I’ll be happily scrolling through that Reddit page where some Chiefs fans recommend different Taylor songs to each other. It’s a reminder that, despite the toxic masculinity, there’s a positive and supportive side to some of the football fans that’s worth celebrating.