One of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift‘s biggest fans is a member of Chiefs Kingdom! Dave Merritt, the defensive back coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, praised the couple and Taylor’s support of the team throughout the 2023-2024 NFL season. “She actually affected the team in a positive way,” Dave said on The Sports Shop With Reese & Kmac on February 23. “Everybody was excited that Travis was happy. So when my player, my brother, is happy beside me, that helps me and that encourages me,” he added.
Dave noted that Travis became “a different man” after he started dating Taylor last summer, and gave credit to the pop star for the Chiefs’ success. “She won a Super Bowl in her first year in the NFL,” he joked on the podcast, recorded two weeks after the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII. “How about that?”
While Taylor made her first public appearance to support Travis at the Chiefs game on September 24, Dave revealed that the “Love Story” singer “started to come around privately” before that amidst her romance with the tight end. “She was coming into the stadiums without people really knowing until the camera put the big spotlight on her,” he explained.
“But upon meeting her, I felt like she actually added to what it was that we were trying to do,” Dave continued. “Because there were so many people that were hating the fact that she was being shown on TV, that you know what, you’re part of our family because you’re now with Travis, so therefore you’re our little sister or you’re whatever it may be, you’re part of family.”
Travis’s teammates and coaches have shown support for his relationship with Taylor since they started dating. Andy Reid, the head coach of the team, called Taylor “a good girl” during a podcast interview two weeks before the Super Bowl. “And I’m happy for Trav,” Andy added. “And there has been no distraction that way at all. Trav’s handled it right, she’s handled it right and we just move forward. So it hasn’t been a problem at all.” Andy also revealed that he met Taylor years ago from knowing her dad Scott Swift.
Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback for the Chiefs, also approves of the relationship. “At first, I felt like everybody kind of stayed away, just let him do what he was doing. And then he started bringing Taylor around,” Patrick said about his initial reaction to Travis and Taylor’s relationship on CBS Mornings in December. “He realized how cool of a person she was — and she is,” the dad-of-two added. “So for us, there was a couple jokes here and there at the beginning, but now she’s Kingdom now. She’s apart of the team.”
Taylor went to 13 Chiefs games during the latest NFL season, including the Super Bowl in Las Vegas on February 11. She embraced Travis on the field with a hug and kiss after his team won. They continued the celebrations at an afterparty where they danced and kissed to her music at a club.