Everybody and their mother has an opinion on the relationship that’s taken the NFL by storm, except for Travis Kelce’s mother, Donna. Even though both Jason and Travis Kelce think the NFL is overdoing its Taylor Swift coverage, that hasn’t stopped the league from leaning into every bit of coverage.
Swift has frequently been shown during broadcasts of Kansas Chiefs’ games that she’s been in attendance for. NBC even aired a Swift-themed intro for Sunday Night Football in Week 4. The previous two weeks of Chiefs football belonged to Fox and NBC, so Week 5 marked a change, as CBS’ top crew of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo were on the call. After two weeks of Swift in attendance, that changed on Sunday, and Nantz handled it perfectly, as only he could.
“In case you were wondering, seven words I thought would never leave my lips in my career. What are they? Taylor Swift is not at the game,” Nantz said, as the CBS cameras panned to a Minneapolis crowd filled with Swifties. “That’s a first for me. I’ve never said that before. There’s some broken-hearted people I just saw in the stands. She was questionable all week, but it looks like it’s officially inactive.”
"Seven words I thought would never leave my lips in my career: Taylor Swift is not at the game… She was questionable all week, but it looks like it's officially inactive. "- Jim Nantz pic.twitter.com/En7iKAoBjb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Don’t worry, Jim, Tony saw what you did there.
Nantz then said that CBS will be at Arrowhead in a few weeks for a Chiefs-Chargers game, and they look forward to seeing her there, perhaps.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Swift wasn’t in attendance for Sunday’s game. With the amount of vitriol and outrage toward her and Kelce’s relationship, we can only imagine what the comments would’ve been after Kansas City’s All-Pro tight end left Sunday’s game with an ankle injury.
Travis Kelce went down with this non-contact injury and limped off the field. 😬pic.twitter.com/wwlsyLf7DI
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 8, 2023
Tracy Wolfson reports on the Travis Kelce injury: "I can tell you he immediately just threw his helmet down in frustration. He tried to walk it off…. could not… he was pointing to that right foot." https://t.co/UrFeGOD2yT pic.twitter.com/6WKRMmNVax
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Fortunately, Kelce would return, seemingly avoiding a significant injury. Appearing to be a foot injury at first, it appeared that Kelce twisted his ankle on a non-contact play, which was a cause of concern for Kansas City.
Chiefs get good news on Travis Kelce.
Tracy Wolfson: "Travis Kelce still on the sideline right now but as you can see, helmet on. That right foot is wrapped up. And I was just told he's gonna try to give it a go. They're leaving it up to him. He wants to play in this game." pic.twitter.com/y8bQdTWZeo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2023
Again, not all announcers can be like Ian Eagle, who cleverly worked in a Taylor Swift reference after Kelce’s first touchdown of the season. Nantz, having no interest in going through Swift’s discography, made a reference that only football fans would understand.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter]
