40: Wait, Why Are People Upset About Taylor Swift?
š Mini-Essay š
Hihi, hello. Apologies for the absence. I started the month with the flu and have been behind ever since. Also, weāre doing some restructuring at the PMG which has meant that Iām 700% more meetings than usual so Iām adjusting. But seriously, thank you for your patience. Iām an old dog learning new tricks and Iām so excited to be back in the rhythm of writing.
But mainly, Iāve just been so angry at Taylor Swift for liking football now that Iāve been unable to write.
JKJKJKJK.
I gotta be honest though, I donāt really understand the uproar and ire directed AT Taylor Swift because what exactly is she guilty of?
Is it making the Chiefs good? THEY WON THE SUPER BOWL LAST YEAR.
Is it making the Chiefs bad? THEY ARE IN THE SUPER BOWL THIS YEAR.
Is it being shown on television? TELEVISION IS A MEDIUM BUILT AROUND BROADCASTING FAMOUS PEOPLE TO US, THE NON-FAMOUS.
Is it because weāre jealous of her and Travisās love? LOL, NO.
So likeā¦ā¦.whatās the problem?
Right-wing grifters and sensationalists might point to some deep-state conspiracy where liberals are using Taylorās newfound football enthusiasm to cover up (insert your favorite wackadoodle conspiracy theory here).
PR skeptics may point to the definitely real romance and relationship between her and Travis Kelce as something inauthentic and calculated and, therefore, off-putting.
But I think itās actually much simpler. I think the consternation is about a sort of multi-layered suffocation from saturation. LET ME EXPLAIN.
For years, the NFL season has orbited the exploits of the Kansas City Chiefs and specifically those of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid.
Patrick Mahomes will probably be the greatest QB of all time by the time heās done playing. Travis Kelce may be the best receiving TE of all time, and Andy Reid is easily in the top 5 of greatest coaches of all time.
All of these things being true, AS WELL AS the the NFLās consistent primacy within the culture, the explosion of NFL coverage and analysis, the commercialization of athletes with brand deals, and becoming their own content and brand companies have led to a force multiplication of the most significant athletes.
Sixty years ago, Wilt Chamberlain and Jim Brown were just great players in their respective sports. If they existed today, they would be media companies, brand ambassadors, and content incubators unto themselves. That isnāt to lament the modern age, but rather, itās to acknowledge that really famous people right now are REALLY FAMOUS. Their fame isnāt just an aura or nimbus around their physical location; they are local gods who have scaled upwards into a kind of comprehensive oppressiveness that is more baked into the fabric of our lives than some institutions.
Even more, of our KC trio (Mahomes, Kelce, and Reid) none of them are overtly problematic or culturally complicated. Andy Reidās sons have had some legal issues but other than that, Andy Reid is well-regarded in league circles.
The worst thing you could say about Patrick Mahomes is that his voice sounds like that of a baby dinosaur, and unless youāre Aaron Rodgers, the biggest issue with Travis Kelce is an unregulated horniness for fame that makes the Kardashians look like JD Salinger in contrast.
So how does Taylor factor into this?
Again, I donāt really think itās about anything sheās done wrong. Sheās not using the NFL exposure to sell her musical wares, and sheās not making controversial statements about the Cover 2 defense, the innovation of jet motion sweeps, or the efficacy of the play-action pass.
I think itās just that, similar to Mahomes, Kelce, and Reid (but on a much larger scale), Taylor is approaching a kind of omnipresence, and where as before, it used to be a benign omnipresence, now it feels almost suffocating, which I feel like is what MOST people are responding to because, for a pretty broad Venn diagram overlap section, thereās a feeling that weāre being suffocated by two things: both Taylor Swift AND the Chiefs being everything everywhere all at once.
I, myself, am not thrilled about the extenuation of the Taylor/Travis storyline, but itās more about storyline exhaustion and the Kelce of it all than it is a frustration with Taylor Swift watching football.
The loaded diapers of the internet and cable news will tell you that Taylor Swift has done something wrong or is deceiving us.
Charlie Kirk (who, as a reminder, looks like an inbred Brody Jenner) and others are only talking about Taylor Swift so they can capitalize on this feeling of suffocative frustration because they are grifters and have nothing to offer the world beyond monetizing anger and outrage, but the only thing Taylor is guilty of is being really, really, REALLY famous.
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I think you missed the forest for the trees- the vast majority of those Angry about Swift are men.
YES, I think you've put to words what a lot of people are feeling! It's no single thing (person!) that's bothersome, it's ALL OF IT, together, day in and day out.