Every Sunday, fans of the apparent romance between Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce turn to the sports pages hoping they’ll see the billionaire singer in the stadium stands. But on this fine fall weekend, things are different. The Chiefs are enjoying a game-free, bye-week break, and as of Thursday, Swift has kicked off the Latin American leg of her Eras Tour. Then on Friday, Kelce was caught on camera exiting a plane in Buenos Aires, suggesting that support from the stands is a two-way street for this reported couple.
Bye week is traditionally when players take “a break both mentally and physically from the NFL season,” Sports Illustrated notes, a time when they “recharge for the second half of the season.” So when Kelce was spotted in the Argentinian capital, it was fair to assume that he’d be doing his recharging at Swift’s second concert at the city’s Estadio River Plate. But that was not to be: about an hour before the concert’s 7 p.m. start time, lightning was reported near the open-air stadium, People says.
The inclement weather prompted the show’s cancellation, Swift announced via her Instagram stories. “I love a rain show, but I’m never going to endanger my fans or my fellow performers and crew,” she wrote. “We’ve rescheduled tonight’s Buenos Aires show for Sunday due to the weather being so truly chaotic it would be unsafe to try and put on this concert. Good news is I get to stay in Argentina longer!!!”
Given the flood-like weather conditions in the stadium that night, as captured by an X (formerly Twitter) user, that was likely a good call.
Denied an opportunity to see Swift in action, Kelce instead joined the singer for dinner at Elena, a meat-focused restaurant (the menu is “based on the three pillars of dry-aged meat, brasserie, and charcuterie,” its website says) inside the Buenos Aires Four Seasons hotel.
Joining the couple was Scott Swift, Taylor’s dad and a standby at several Eras Tour stops, the Daily Mail reports. The trio reportedly ordered steak—not only an Elena specialty but a favorite dish in good old KC—from a private dining room, then left surrounded by a six-staffer “guard of honor” from the restaurant’s kitchen. (Vanity Fair contacted Kelce’s and Swift’s representatives for more details on their evening, but did not receive a response as of publication time.)
All this seems pleasant and innocent enough—two thirtysomething adults and a parent, getting a high-protein meal in on their night off. But on Fox Sports show First Things First, commentator Eric Mangini took issue with the athlete’s trip south, suggesting that Kelce’s visit to Argentina might interfere with his bedtime.
“I’m a fan of young love, and I like Taylor Swift a lot,” said the 52-year-old Mangini, who in the past served as head coach for the New York Jets and the Cleveland Browns. “But you could probably see concerts closer to home.”
If Kelce had skipped the trip, he “could go to bed at 8:00,” Mangini said of the 34-year-old. Remaining “a little bit closer to home” during the bye week “could be positive,” Mangini affirmed before conceding that “maybe this will work out as well.”
If weather allows, opening acts for Swift’s next show will take the stage at 7 p.m. Buenos Aires time on Saturday, Nov. 11, with Swift scheduled to perform at 8:45. The Chiefs’ next game against the Philadelphia Eagles (a team for which, we should note, Kelce’s brother, Jason Kelce also plays) is set for 7:15 p.m. CST on Monday, Nov. 20.
Eve Batey
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