LAS VEGAS — Taylor Swift has made it to the Super Bowl. Over an hour before kickoff, Swift was spotted speaking with Philadelphia Eagles’ center Jason Kelce and later, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a private box at Allegiant Stadium.
Swift completed her epic trip from the Tokyo Dome to Allegiant Stadium for the Super Bowl on Sunday, walking through security along with friends Blake Lively, Ice Spice and her mom, Andrea Swift, to watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the San Francisco 49ers.
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The 14-time Grammy-winner, who has been dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce since the first few weeks of the NFL season, flew across nine time zones and the international date line from her Eras Tour to arrive about two hours before kickoff.
In the middle of Post Malone’s performance of “America the Beautiful,” cameras cut to Swift and Lively holding each other and enjoying the performance. She danced when the Chiefs won the coin toss.
Swift walked in wearing a black outfit with a red jacket slung over her shoulder, apparently getting the memo from Kelce and many of the Chiefs. He wore a shimmering black suit, quarterback Patrick Mahomes wore a sharp black suit of his own, and even Chiefs coach Andy Reid wore a black blazer as the Chiefs leaned into the villain role in which they have been cast.
There has been plenty of Taylor Swift on the big screens of Allegiant Stadium, and during the last timeout, cameras caught her in a race to chug what appeared to be a beer in her suite.
Swift was the first to finish, and she triumphantly slammed the cup down as the video cut away to other fans. But not before an appreciative roar rippled through the stadium.
If only the Chiefs were able to move the ball as successfully as she downed her drink. Their offense has gone nowhere in the first half of their Super Bowl showdown with the 49ers.
“Anti-Hero” also happens to be the lead single from Swift’s Grammy-winning album, “Midnights.”
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“She’s unbelievable. She’s rewriting the history books herself,” Kelce said after the Grammys last Sunday. “I told her I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain and come home with hardware, too.”
Swift wrapped up the last of four shows in Japan on Saturday night, then hopped a private plane at Haneda Airport for a flight across the Pacific Ocean. She landed in Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon – the time change worked in her favor – before Swift headed on to Las Vegas, where so many high-rollers had arrived that parking for private planes was entirely booked up.
Swift began dating Kelce after he said on his “New Heights” podcast that he had tried and failed to give her a friendship bracelet during her performance at Arrowhead Stadium. Kelce then invited her to watch him perform at the home of the Chiefs, and she surprisingly showed up for their Week 2 game against Chicago.
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Swift soon became a regular at games, both home and away, frequently sitting with Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Swift occasionally brought along friends, including Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
“Having Taylor as a new Chiefs fan is very unique,” Chiefs owner Clark Hunt told a small group of reporters. “I don’t ever do an interview without someone asking me about it. I think a lot of players and coaches on the team are in the same boat. The most important thing is we’re happy for the two of them that they have found each other and have such a special relationship.”
There was plenty of star power besides Swift for the NFL’s marquee night. Usher is performing the halftime show, and was rumored to have several guests planned, while Post Malone and Reba McEntire performed before the game.
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Few were to be under a brighter spotlight than Swift, though. Her dash from the Tokyo Dome, where she promised fans that “we’re all gonna go on a great adventure,” had Swifties around the world watching online flight trackers, while her boyfriend seemed to get as many questions about his relationship as the game during the run-up to kickoff.
Asked to explain the intense interest, Kelce replied: “I think the values we stand for and just who we are as people – we love to shine light on others, shine light on the people that help and support us, and on top of that, I think we both just love life.”
Kelce and Swift won’t have a whole lot of time together, regardless of how the game plays out.
After winning a record-breaking fourth album of the year award at the Grammys for “Midnights,” announcing her next album will drop in April and attending the Super Bowl, Swift is due back across the Pacific later this week. The international leg of her Eras Tour resumes Friday night with the first of three shows at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“This week is truly the best kind of chaos,” she posted Wednesday on Instagram.
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AP Music Writer Maria Sherman contributed to this report from Los Angeles.
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