Taylor Swift has long drawn inspiration from various life experiences, and her recent relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has brought football imagery prominently into her music. Even before they started dating, Taylor used sports metaphors to convey complex emotions, blending her personal and political views with athletic themes.
Her album The Tortured Poets Department highlights this trend, especially in songs like Alchemy and So High School, where she references touchdowns, trophies, and locker room moments. These lyrics reveal how football language deeply weaves into her storytelling, capturing moments of victory, rivalry, and camaraderie.
Early Use of Sports Imagery in Taylor Swift’s Songs
Long before Travis Kelce entered her life, Taylor introduced sports-related lines in her music. In the song Fifteen, she reflects on youthful experiences, noting,
In your life you’ll do things, Greater than dating the boy on the football team, I didn’t know it at fifteen,
—Taylor Swift, Songwriter
She also cleverly intertwines political messages with sports jargon in Only the Young, featured in her documentary Miss Americana. This song addresses the 2018 U.S. midterm elections and youth activism while criticizing former President Donald Trump. The lyric,
the game was rigged, the ref got tricked,
—Taylor Swift, Songwriter—uses football terminology metaphorically to comment on fairness and power struggles in politics.
Symbolism of Victory and Devotion Through Sports
Taylor’s 2020 album Evermore contains the song Willow, where she compares love to winning prestigious sports awards. In vivid imagery, she sings,
As if you were a mythical thing. Like you were a trophy or a champion ring. And there was one prize I’d cheat to win.
—Taylor Swift, Songwriter This metaphor connects her emotional pursuit to the ultimate honors in sports like the NFL and NBA, enhancing the passion and intensity of her feelings.
This image gains further weight when considering her real-life moments watching Travis Kelce celebrate victories such as lifting the Lombardi Trophy and wearing his Super Bowl ring. However, Taylor’s connection to football dates back even further. The music video for You Belong With Me portrayed her as a high school crush on a football player, showing how the sport has influenced her artistry over time.
Additional Athletic Influences in Taylor’s Music
Besides football, Taylor has woven other sports experiences into her work. London Boy from the Lover album reflects her relationship with former partner Joe Alwyn and her exposure to rugby during visits to the UK. She sings,
And now I love high tea, stories from uni, and the West End. You can find me in the pub, we are watching rugby with his school friends.
—Taylor Swift, Songwriter This lyric captures the casual social setting where she absorbed the sport’s culture through Alwyn’s circle.
Taylor also tackles criticism in her 2010 song Mean from Speak Now. After a challenging live performance with Stevie Nicks, she faced harsh media backlash, which she turned into a sharp rebuttal. The song imagines her detractors as bitter figures aging into irrelevance, depicted vividly with football imagery:
And I can see you years from now in a bar talkin’ over a football game. With that same big loud opinion, but nobody’s listening. Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things. Drunk and grumbling on about how I can’t sing.
—Taylor Swift, Songwriter
The Growing Impact of Football on Taylor’s Lyrics
Sports, and particularly football, continue to shape Taylor Swift’s songwriting in both subtle allusions and direct references. Her partnership with Travis Kelce has likely amplified this influence, as seen when she personalized her song Karma during a live performance by altering the lyrics to say,
Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.
—Taylor Swift, Performer This change firmly links her music to her current relationship, highlighting football’s central role in her recent creative expression.
With her history of blending personal experience, cultural commentary, and emotive storytelling, Swift’s ongoing relationship with Kelce may inspire even more football-themed narratives. As fans follow this intersection of sports and music, Swift’s evolving lyricism promises to remain rich with athletic metaphors and heartfelt insights.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. How long was Travis Kelce with his ex-girlfriend?
A. Here’s what to know about Kayla Nicole, who previously dated NFL star Travis Kelce. They were in a relationship for five years and split up in 2022.
Q. Who is Kylie to Travis Kelce?
A. Travis Kelce is an amazing uncle, according to his sister-in-law Kylie Kelce. She mentioned that he loves playing with her and Jason Kelce’s children: Wyatt, age 5; Elliott, age 4; Bennett, age 2; and Finnley, who is just 2 months old. The Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end is often called the “king of the fun uncles.”
Q. How long was Travis Kelce with his ex?
A. What you should know about Kayla Nicole, who dated NFL player Travis Kelce. The couple was together for five years before ending their relationship in 2022. Before his well-known romance with Taylor Swift, Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce was involved with Kayla Nicole, a content creator.
Q. What does Travis Kelce’s ex-girlfriend do for a living?
A. Nicole works as a sports journalist who appears on TV. She’s well-known for reporting NBA games from courtside and NFL games from the sidelines. Additionally, she has reported on entertainment news.