Everything culminates this weekend, writes Elina Väntönen, HS's US correspondent.
Washington
From one it has not been possible to avoid it in the US lately, no matter how hard one tries: the pop superstar Taylor Swift's and an NFL player Travis Kelce from romance.
It's on TV, in newspapers, in coffee lines, during lunch hours, at the gym, on people's phones and at school bus stops. Not everyone likes it, but everyone knows what they're talking about – and even those who get annoyed still talk.
In a country divided in two, such shared experiences are increasingly rare – American football and Taylor Swift are both the last bastions of a unified culture. In this relationship, those two things come together, and it's got all of America, well, pretty messed up.
The relentless analysis started no later than September 24, when Swift appeared for the first time in a Kansas City Chiefs game. Kelce is the team tight end i.e. inside winger.
The host of the news channel Fox was inspired to describe the couple as follows: “This is what we all need. It feels right for America.”
Is it really felt like America was clinging to the relationship like a drowning lifeline.
One reason is perhaps that the undertone of romance speculation has been quite good-natured. It feels like a relief in an otherwise rather crowded social atmosphere.
(Of course, this also became political when Donald Trump's supporters figured out that Swift is actually the Democrats' secret weapon for winning elections. But let's not go into that now.)
Another reason is that it sell. Swift's influence on the number of female viewers of TV matches has been indisputable: there has been a 34 percent increase among those over 35 and as much as 53 percent among 12-17 year olds.
The “Swifties” have also reportedly found their way to the venue, and exceptionally high prices have been paid for Kansas City Chiefs game tickets.
The median price of a ticket to the final, i.e. the Super Bowl is about $8,800.
Taylor Swift has become a familiar sight in the audience.
Violently of course, the analyzed relationship has made me dig into the past as well. If the Swift hype alone has been compared to Beatlemania, “TNT” has been compared to the actor Marilyn Monroe and a baseball star Joe DiMaggio relationship in the 1950s.
“The g
reatest woman in the world and the greatest man in the world – it was a perfect match,” teammate Jerry Coleman described in its day, the union of two superstars that captivated the American people.
Although before Swift, Kelce was not a super celebrity like DiMaggio, but primarily known to those who follow the sport. Of course, that's a lot: last year, 93 of the 100 most watched TV programs in the United States were NFL games.
However, Swift was in a class of her own in terms of fame and wealth.
That somehow fits this time.
All culminates this Sunday with the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. The Kansas City Chiefs, of course, made it to the Finals this year – against expectations.
The San Francisco 49ers are the preseason favorite for the Super Bowl, but they have been left without help in the supporting cast.
Of course, the fitting climax to everything would be that Swift flies to the venue from Saturday's Tokyo concert, the Kansas City Chiefs win and Kelce is chosen as the most valuable player of the game.
It might even be too much.
The Super Bowl starts at 1:30 on Monday night Finnish time. It can be watched on the MTV3 channel.
Pictures of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were waved in the stands in Denver in November.
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