Taylor Swift and the NFL Clown Show: Why Fans are Turning to College Football
Sorry Swifties, you may not like this one.
As you all know, I am the resident baseball fanatic here at The Connector. I’ve dropped lite takes about football but nothing more than that. And I’ll be honest, I do not like football. I think the sport is dangerous and has its own problematic roots. But, between the woman everyone on TikTok is calling “the first industry plant football fan,” Taylor Swift and games with suspicious outcomes, the state of the National Football League is enough to get me interested in stories behind the touchdowns.
Another topic I have avoided voicing to many of my opinions about is Taylor Swift. I am bewildered by how popular she is. She’s definitely talented, but her music and image are also so incredibly bland that it is surprising how many people stan her. On top of that, she is also rather problematic. She is the poster child for performative activism and hides behind white-centric feminism, and her fans—with their surface level knowledge of social and political issues (because most of her fans live in a state of privilege)—will call anyone sexist that criticizes her. And she is considered the number one celebrity polluter with her egregious private jet usage (at 8,293 Tonnes of CO2, she has contributed to carbon emissions more than any other celebrity in the world). And of course, she has driven NFL viewership up by 22% just by dating Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. In the wake of the Eras Tour, we all understand the amount of influence T. Swift has and the buying power of her fan base. I understand why the NFL would want to use her as a way to up viewership and engagement, but it may be back firing on them.
There are many problems with Taylor Swift being the crutch the NFL is leaning on. The NFL is already notorious for racism and unfair treatment of Black coaches, players and fans. And highlighting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce when Simone Biles and her husband, Jonathan Owens, never get the same amount of screen time isn’t helping the NFL beat the racist allegations. I read an article about this where the author wrote, “But quite simply, the numbers do not suggest that Biles is on the same level of stardom as Swift. It’s not her fault, gymnastics just isn’t as popular as pop music. Google Trends traffic shows that searches for Taylor Swift dwarves that of Biles since September 30…” and while they are correct that gymnastics isn’t as popular as one of the biggest music artists in the world, I feel as though this person is a bit left of the point.
First of all, to diminish Simone Biles as if she isn’t the most decorated gymnast of all time is ludicrous. This is a national sports league we’re talking about here, not a Fashion Nova brand deal, it doesn’t matter how many Instagram followers or Google clicks these women have. The viewership the NFL has gained is almost all from Swifties, Swifties who were, obviously, not watching football before. Because of its record low viewership in the past two or three years, the NFL is desperate for eyes at this point, searching for easy views that will be a memory in the wind after Taylor Swift has found another white man to date as a PR move. When instead, they could make equally of a big deal about Simone Biles, colliding two worlds, and possibly garnering fans that they know already have interest in sports and athletes and would be more open to adding a new sport on their roster. It’s just abundantly clear that they are not only pathetically desperate for views, but they also value the influence of a white couple over the influence of a black one.
But realistically, the remedy for the NFL’s decreased engagement has nothing to do with Taylor Swift or Simone Biles, it has to do with the real-life football fans. I had an in-depth conversation with Theo Reeves, a former high school and college football player and devout football fanatic, about the state of football. “They’ve made the NFL more about Hollywood and less about ball.” Reeves says it an umbrella statement to explain some of the downfall of the league. And of course, the NFL is a ginormous platform and celebrities are a huge factor, but when more people are talking about the celeb appearances and which player and dating whichever pop star, fans begin to question what they’re really there for. But they are also stripping the game of all the flare fans come for.
“Black players are getting fined for dancing in the end zone, or for celebrating in a way that the white people running it may not like or understand.”
Theo Reeves, football fan
Once again, the pattern of racism and cultural intolerance is making itself apparent within the league. And I don’t think any of us are surprised by the abhorrent response the NFL had to the flag kneeling protests, but I think it’s a bit more shocking to watch them penalize players like Stefon Diggs and Tyreek Hill for just being black and having fun playing sports. You must think about the demographic here, football fans are already people who enjoy watching men brutalize each other some pigskin (that makes it sound so Homo Sapienesque), so of course they enjoy seeing players banter and taunt each other. It hypes up the drama, and potentially the physical violence on the field (which is fun for the Homo Sapien football fans).
But even the physical violence has been tempered in the game. With players getting fined for even touching the Quarterbacks wrong. There are so many new nuanced rules to the way a player can tackle and when you can make contact that the reason people love football is diminishing. And while the NFL has made some changes—like the overtime rule change—that fans are loving at the moment, overall, the National Football League has made plenty scrunch up their nose to what’s happening and embracing college football with open arms.
“[College football] is the rawest football you’re gonna get.”
Theo Reeves, football fan
There’s something about college football, even as a non-fan, that is so attractive and exciting, especially in a state like Georgia. While the NFL helps to facilitate state-wide pride, the NCAA allows you to represent your direct community. You’re not rooting for some gazillionaire quarterback that wouldn’t really give you the time of day or a team that only want what’s in your wallet, you’re rooting for your classmates, friends, a rich legacy, your alma-mater, your hometown, the place that raised you.
And while college football has a bit more space to bend the norms of the sport, the NCAA also has a lot more guidelines in place to protect their players. “The moment a coach or someone is caught being racist, they are fired.” Reeves said when I asked him about the contrast of responses to racism within the two leagues. And of course, with college ball, they are representing an institution with students who are afforded the right of free speech, so it’s a lot harder to get away with atrocities when you would face backlash in real life, as opposed to just a bunch of profile pictures complaining on the internet. It’s much more obvious that the NCAA works diligently to protect their players on a level that we don’t see in the NFL.
But what all of this boils down to is one thing: money. For the NFL, a huge heaping pile of cold hard cash is what fuels every decision. However, within the realm of college sports, there is no money on the line. It’s all for the glory, it’s all for legacy. Money can be destroyed, money can be burned or ripped or crumpled while history, the roots of now, are evergreen. And until the NFL turn the looking glass onto themselves, they will continue to decline in viewership and their fans will begin to resent them more and more.
