As Fox leaned into covering Taylor Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs-Bears game this past Sunday, so did Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, and Erin Andrews. Burkhardt, the play-by-play voice of Fox’s A-team, wasn’t as over the moon as Olsen when he heard that Swift was going to be at Arrowhead Stadium, but he certainly leaned into the megastar singer being part of the storyline of Sunday’s win for Kansas City.
Olsen loves that fellow tight end Travis Kelce is with Swift rather than a star quarterback, while Andrews jokingly grilled Patrick Mahomes about the pressure he faced with her in attendance, while also working in some references to songs by the pop artist.
As for Burkhardt, he spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Jimmy Traina and described what it was like calling Sunday’s Chiefs game with Swift in attendance. According to Burkhardt, they found out a couple of hours before kickoff that Swift would be coming.
“We all love Travis Kelce so we all had talked about, ‘Man, it would be awesome if it happened. It would be so cool,'” Burkhardt told SI. “I don’t think any of us really necessarily thought she was going to come to our game, but then a couple of hours before the game we’re told, and it was like, ‘Holy ****, this is gonna be awesome.’ And then the next part of that is you don’t know where she’s gonna be or if she’s gonna be visible. The coolest part was that she was front and center, cheering the entire game, sitting with Kelce’s mom. It was awesome. We just had fun with it. How do you not? It was just so cool.”
They had an absolute blast if you couldn’t tell by the clips below.
“Looks like Taylor Swift picked a good day to come here to Arrowhead…Man, they got Taylor Swift here. The offense has found their rhythm. Kelce’s catching balls. I mean who’s living better?” – Greg Olsen
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 24, 2023
A lot going on here.
Kevin Burkhardt thought Taylor Swift was an Eagles fan. Greg Olsen was more impressed with her doing a chest bump after Travis Kelce’s touchdown.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 24, 2023
“Do you realize how much pressure was on you from the Swifties to get Travis Kelce a touchdown with Taylor in the house today?” – Erin Andrews to Patrick Mahomes. pic.twitter.com/6ZqPfbQtK8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 24, 2023
Traina asked Burkhardt if they were cognizant about not overdoing it. And while they didn’t expertly work 46 of her song titles into the broadcast, the announcer said they were able to play it naturally without forcing references. As we know, not everyone can be as clever as Ian Eagle.
“Let’s put it this way. The game wasn’t in the balance very long, but we never had a discussion, “Oh, how many times are we gonna show Taylor Swift?’ We just kind of did it. That game was over probably before the half, so then it was like, “Let’s have some fun.” I thought we had fun and didn’t overdo it. At the same time, too, it’s like, just let her watch the game without a camera in her face the entire time,” said Burkhardt.
It certainly sounds like Burkhardt would welcome calling another game with Swift in attendance, considering how well Fox seemingly handled her appearance. However, the next Taylor Swift assignment could be on NBC’s hands as the New York Jets are set to host the Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Swift, who performed at MetLife Stadium earlier this summer as part of her Eras Tour, has a permanent residence in New York.
Maybe Mike Tirico could use a pointer or two from Burkhardt.
[SI]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.