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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Meredith Clark

Travis Kelce’s publicist denies viral handwritten football cheat sheet belongs to Taylor Swift

Getty Images / Instagram

Ever since Taylor Swift’s appearance at Travis Kelce’s NFL game, a photograph of a handwritten note has circulated on social media, with people claiming the football rules cheat sheet belonged to the singer.

Now, the Kansas City Chiefs player’s publicist has denied rumours that the football explainer was Swift’s.

In an Instagram post shared to celebrity gossip account DeuxMoi, an anonymous follower claimed that the handwritten note was recovered from the box seats at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri – where Swift watched Kelce play football on Sunday 24 September.

“Taylor Swift notes from her team on all things Chiefs… recovered from the stadium,” the anonymous message read, along with screenshots of the alleged cheat sheet. The handwritten notes appeared to include facts about the American sport, as well as the names of notable Chiefs players.

DeuxMoi captioned the Instagram post: “Recovered from yesterday’s game… allegedly Taylor Swift’s team made sure she knew her stuff!! Love that!!!”

However, Kelce’s publicist Pia Malihi was quick to confirm that the alleged cheat sheet was a hoax. “Not true… I’m TK’s [Travis Kelce’s] publicist and that’s not hers,” she wrote in the comments section of DeuxMoi’s post.

It seemed that Swifties, the nickname given to fans of the “Shake It Off” singer, weren’t easily convinced the football facts sheet belonged to Swift either.

“She’s an Eagles fan,” one person commented. “She didn’t need football explained to her.”

“There’s no way,” another fan wrote. “Girlfriend grew up watching the Eagles. She knows how many players are on the field. This is BS.”

“Taylor has literally said she grew up watching football with her dad. She doesn’t need this,” said someone else.

Swift – who grew up in Pennsylvania before her family moved to Nashville, Tennessee – has been a longtime fan of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team. In 2020, she released a song called “Gold Rush” from her album Evermore, which included a lyric about an Eagles T-shirt.

In May, Swift confirmed speculation that she’s an Eagles fan during an Eras Tour concert, where she performed at none other than the Eagles’ stadium at Lincoln Financial Field. In a video posted by the NFL on X, formerly known as Twitter, Swift told concertgoers: “I don’t know how large the debate was, but I did see the debate.”

“I have a lyric that says: ‘With my Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door,’” she continued. “I saw some people wondering if it was the band the Eagles or the team the Eagles, and I love the band the Eagles, but guys, come on. I’m from Philly. Of course it’s the team.”

However, Swift’s preference for the Eagles may pose some challenges for her budding relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. Not only is Kelce’s older brother Jason Kelce a fellow NFL star, but he also plays centre for the Philadelphia Eagles.

In fact, Jason recently reposted a video of a Swift fan who said she was upset that the singer went to Kelce’s game, rather than supporting her Eagles family. “What a betrayal for the Eagles, by the way. [Taylor] sings about Eagles T-shirts in her songs, but she’s doing this?” the fan said in a video posted to X.

In response, Jason wrote back: “PREACH!!!! Go Birds!”

On 24 September, the 33-year-old musician was spotted enthusiastically cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs star from the box seats at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Swift was seen chatting to Kelce’s mother, Donna, and seemed to immerse herself in the game when she shouted “let’s f***ing go” after Kelce’s third-quarter touchdown reception.

Following the game, Swift and Kelce were filmed leaving the stadium together in Kelce’s convertible, and he reportedly rented out the Prime Social Rooftop in Kansas City for a private, post-game celebration.

Her recent NFL appearance comes months after Kelce admitted on his New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce podcast that he attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. While he failed at giving the “Bad Blood” singer his number, the two reportedly hung out earlier this month but are not “officially dating”.

Swift was previously linked to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. Their short-lived romance reportedly ended in June, following Swift’s breakup with British actor Joe Alwyn after six years of dating. Meanwhile, Kelce was in an on-again, off-again relationship with ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole for five years. The former couple reportedly ended their long-term relationship in 2022.

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