Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? Five ways the singer has been linked to the KC area

Reports that superstar singer Taylor Swift has been “hanging out” with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have set social media ablaze since Tuesday — especially in Kansas City.

But it’s not the first time Swift has been notably connected to the metro area. And we know it’s something Kelce has been trying to make happen.

On his “New Heights” podcast with brother and Eagles center Jason, Kelce recently explained that he tried to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it when she performed in Kansas City.

“I was disappointed that she doesn’t talk before or after her shows because she has to save her voice for the 44 songs that she sings. So I was a little butthurt I didn’t get to hand her one of the bracelets I made for her,” Kelce said. “If you’re up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are a friendship bracelets and I received a bunch of them being there, but I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it. All right now.”

While it’s unknown why the two 1989-born stars reportedly linked up, we’ll see if more is revealed about Swift and Kelce’s connection.

In the meantime, here are five other ways Swift has made her mark on the Kansas City area.

You can take a Taylor Swift class at KU

Brian Donovan, a sociology professor at the University of Kansas, told The Star in May that he made a TikTok to recruit people for his study of Taylor Swift fans.

He got over 2,000 replies in the following days. Donovan’s now teaching a class called “The Sociology of Taylor Swift.”

The class, according to KU’s honors program page, says “This seminar uses the life and career of Taylor Swift as a mirrorball to reflect on large-scale processes like the culture industry, celebrity, and fandom, and the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in contemporary American life.”

Swift’s been to Lawrence before

The KU connections don’t stop there. Back in 2009, Taylor Swift took a trip to Lawrence to visit a friend, who was a freshman at KU at the time.

While visiting her friend, Swift attended a media and society class.

The University Daily Kansan reported that Chuck Marsh, professor of journalism and the Media and Society instructor, said he didn’t know Swift would attend the class, but he was thrilled and impressed when he heard that she sat patiently through the entire lecture.

Taylor Swift performs the song “Cruel Summer” during her Eras Tour stop at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday, July 7, 2023, in Kansas City.

Swift’s concert history in Kansas City

Swift’s two shows on July 7 and 8 at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium may have been her biggest shows in Kansas City to date. But they weren’t her first.

She’s made six stops to Kansas City during her performing career: four times at T-Mobile Center and two times at at Arrowhead.

Her first stop in Kansas City happened on April 2, 2010, when she toured for her second album, “Fearless.” She’s been to Kansas City for every individual album tour except for her self-titled debut, and “Lover,” “Folklore,” “Evermore,” and “Midnights,” which were all released during the pandemic.

Then-Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel gave Taylor Swift a team jersey in 2015 when she brought her 1989 World Tour to the Sprint Center, now T-Mobile Center.

One of Swift’s backup dancers graduated from UMKC

Swift had 15 backup dancers performing with her throughout the Eras tour. Kameron Saunders was one of them, and he’s both a Missouri native and a University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate.

“I can finally announce that I am one of 15 dancers (the only plus size) on the Eras world tour with Taylor Swift,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “I have been holding onto this since December when I got the call. We opened last night in Arizona and I am just overwhelmed by all the love messages and DMs.”

He’s also the brother of former Chiefs defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who won two Super Bowl championships with the team before signing a contract with the New Orleans Saints in 2023.

Dancer Kameron Saunders performs the intro to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Friday, July 7, 2023, in Kansas City.

Taylor’s an Eagles fan

Maybe here’s where the connection truly lies between Swift and Kelce.

Swift released a song called “Gold Rush” on her album 2020 album “Evermore” that included a lyric about an Eagles T-shirt. She never clarified if it was a reference to the NFL team or the band until her stop in Philadelphia during the Eras tour in May.

“I don’t know how large the debate was, but I did see the debate,” Swift said at the concert. “I have a lyric that says, ‘With my Eagles T-shirt hanging from the door.’ I saw some people wondering if it was the band the Eagles or the team the Eagles, and I love the band the Eagles, but guys, come on. I’m from Philly. Of course it’s the team.”

Perhaps there was some bad blood to be sorted out between Swift and Kelce, since it was Kelce’s Chiefs that defeated the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII in February.

The Star will report further on these events as they develop.