It’s no Eras Tour, but local Taylor Swift fans could get a glimpse of the pop star on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, courtesy of her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The Chiefs are slated to play the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC Championship on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Since Swift skipped over the D.C. area for her concert tour, it would be her first appearance at a local stadium since she performed at FedEx Field in 2018, during her Reputation Stadium World Tour.
Swift’s attendance isn’t confirmed just yet. But that likely won’t stop Swifties from scooping up tickets, which go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. (Watch out football fanatics, remember the Ticketmaster crash of 2022.)
Should the pop superstar come to Maryland, she’d make some fans’ wildest dreams into a reality.
“I kind of like freaked out a little bit, not gonna lie,” said 24-year-old Chelsea Cramer, of Dundalk, Maryland. “It was like ‘Oh, oh, oh, I’m 20 minutes away from there.'”
What remains to be seen is whether already costly tickets for that playoff game will get into the hands of scalpers who capitalize off Swift’s big reputation.
Jess Woodley, 41, of Springfield, Virginia, is among those fans planning to battle for tickets Tuesday. She was “bummed” when she couldn’t get tickets for The Eras Tour. Now, she has a second chance at being in the same stadium as the artist she has loved for more than a decade.
“You’ve got to hope for the best and expect the worst,” Woodley said. “You expect the heartache of it not happening, and you kind of prepare yourself for that. But then you kind of have that light of hope that just maybe, maybe something could happen.”
Either way, the “hard-core Swiftie” said if the singer attends the game, she’ll be watching from the stands or from the social media highlight reels.
You need to calm down
Swift has been at more than 10 games this season to cheer on Kelce, and she has captivated some fans while creating bad blood with others who’ve criticized her presence.
While Woodley said she’s a “bandwagon fan” of Baltimore because it’s her brother’s favorite team, she’s always had an interest in football.
Woodley said that although some critics have said they don’t want to see Swift on-screen during games, her attendance has helped the Virginia mom to bond with her young son, as her interest in the sport has grown.
“I have no idea how I got here, but here I am trying to understand football better,” Woodley said. “That wasn’t on my bingo card for the last few months, but it’s been great. It’s gotten us closer; we text about it; we talk about it. So that’s been really fun.”
Swifties have told those booing the pop star at games or online to calm down.
“It doesn’t affect you in any way,” Cramer said of those who are bothered by Swift’s attendance. “I get it, you don’t like her. But you don’t got to be so critical of everything.”
Dating the boy on the football team
Both Swift and Kelce have seemingly acknowledged each other while performing on the field. Back in November, Swift changed a lyric in her song “Karma” to sing, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.”
Kelce has returned the favor, including when he made a heart gesture into the crowd after catching a 22-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills. It’s seemingly a nod to Swift, who’s notorious for making that same gesture to crowds at her shows since releasing “Fearless” (2008).
If Swift makes it to Baltimore, fans will surely be watching for a similar gesture.
But fans are managing their expectations, with some speculating Sunday’s game won’t work with Swift’s schedule. The next leg of her tour kicks off Feb. 8 in Tokyo.
“I’m super excited about the possibility,” Woodley said. “But it’s always kind of like a wait-and-see thing with her, especially now, since she’s about to start her international dates.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
