'Don't Show Your Cards:' Travis Kelce Opens Up About Trying To Play It Cool While The Patriots Crowd Cheered For Taylor Swift, And It's So Sweet

From left to right: a screenshot of Travis Kelce on The Tonight Show and a screenshot of Taylor Swift talking during the Long Pond Studio Sessions.
(Image credit: NBC and Disney+)

Travis Kelce loves an end zone dance, and he celebrates his achievements on the field in big ways. However, when it came to the opposing team cheering for Kelce’s girlfriend Taylor Swift at the Chiefs vs. Patriots game, he was trying really hard to play it cool, and it was so sweet. 

So, for some context, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Taylor Swift famously adores playing in Gillette Stadium, home of the Pats, and when she attended the game there to support her partner, the New England fans showed the love right back to her – she even had custom cookies that said “Dads, Brads and Chads” in her suite. Travis Kelce found all the fans cheering for her very sweet, but, because he was playing in the game, he was trying to play it cool, as he explained on his podcast New Heights:

They showed Taylor at the game, and you don't see an entire home team fanbase go insane for somebody wearing the opposite team’s colors. It shows you how amazing that girl is. They went absolutely insane when they showed Taylor on the screen. There might've been a few Brads and Chads that were boo-ing, but for the most part, everybody was fucking screaming their tail off for her. I was trying to keep it cool, I was like 'Don't show your cards, don't show your cards.' It was fun man.

Isn’t that the sweetest thing ever? As he explained the moment, it was clear how chuffed Kelce was by Pats fans' reactions to Swift. The two-time Super Bowl champ has shown he’s a gent with the “Lover” singer and appreciates moments with both Swifties and NFL fans many times, and his respect and admiration for her is extremely clear. This moment is simply another fabulous example of that. However, because he had a job to do, he had to play it cool during the game, which was understandable. 

However, now that the game is over, and the Chiefs won, he can be as giddy about this reception as he wants to be. Continuing to talk about why so many people in Gillette Stadium were stoked to see Taylor Swift on the big screen, Kelce explained the mutual adoration the fans and his partner have for each other:

Shoutout to the Patriots and New England. Taylor is on record saying that that stadium is one of the funnest she’s played at. So, for them to show her is just kind of showing her some love. So, shoutout to the Patriots for doing that.

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INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 09: EDITORIAL USE ONLY. Taylor Swift performs onstage during "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour" at SoFi Stadium on August 09, 2023 in Inglewood, California.

(Image credit: Photo by Kevin Winter/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)

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If you pay attention to Swift’s events, both past and present, especially when it comes to the Eras Tour, you’ll know the relevance of Gillette Stadium. Last summer, the singer famously played through a torrential downpour, and she opened up about how “happy” she was in her life. Historically there’s also a long “Love Story” between this place and the “Fearless” singer because the first NFL stadium she ever played was Gillette. 

Overall, it was so sweet to see team allegiances thrown out the window – with the exception of a few Brads and Chads – so both Chiefs and Pats fans could support Taylor Swift. Clearly, Travis Kelce loved to see it, and we did too. The cherry on top of all of this though, was the tight end explaining why he felt the need to play it cool during that moment, when in reality he probably wanted to cheer along with everyone else. 

Riley Utley
Weekend Editor

Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.