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Brothers Travis and Jason Kelce poked fun at NFL fans claiming this season’s playoffs were “rigged” in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs so Taylor Swift will attend the Super Bowl and boost ratings.
During his Friday appearance on his brother’s “They Call It Late Night” show — via a video call — Travis said he would’ve “100 percent” been there in person if the Chiefs had lost their AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills.
The former Philadelphia Eagles player jokingly blamed Bills quarter Josh Allen’s poor performance for Travis’ absence, saying, “Dammit. Josh, why’d you have to ruin this?”
After Travis defended Allen, saying, “Don’t blame Josh. He played his tail off,” Jason took a shot at the ongoing conspiracy theory.
“Who do I blame? The officials?” Jason hilariously continued. Travis then coyly responded, “I thought it was fair.”
“You did? Sure. Yeah, you and nobody else,” Jason quipped.
After a controversial call was made in the team’s recent win, many football fans — including comedian Bill Burr and ESPN talking head Skip Bayless — began to question the fairness of the game.
Last week, Bayless insinuated that the league is fixed not only in favor of the Chiefs, but also for the benefit of Swifties whose viewership has turned the pop star into a “one-woman ratings juggernaut.”
“The memo will go out, just as it did last week, ‘make sure Taylor Swift makes it to New Orleans for the Super Bowl,”’ Bayless said on his eponymous show, per Daily Mail. “Without her, the NFL loses millions and millions of viewers who will tune in, mostly to see what she’s wearing up in that Superdome luxury box.”
“So [Patrick] Mahomes, teetering though he might, must be propped up. Must be protected by the referees, just the way he was Saturday at home against the Texans,” Bayless continued.
The pop star has been a regular attendee of the Chiefs’ games since she and Travis started dating in the summer of 2023.
“This is the Taylor Swift effect. She is a one-woman ratings juggernaut. ‘Protect her! Prop her up! Award her boyfriend’s team with phantom penalties. Get them to New Orleans! The NFL needs the Swifties. Protect ’em! Prop ’em up! Make sure the Chiefs advance.”
The conspiracy theory has since gained traction as the Chiefs prepare to make their third appearance in three years at the Super Bowl on Feb. 9.
Though, former NFL VP Dan Brandino has since squashed the theory — which he admitted some of his own family members believe.
“One-hundred and fifty million people are gonna watch the Super Bowl regardless of Taylor Swift being there. Like enough,” he said, India Times reports.
