{"id":14314,"date":"2024-02-04T08:08:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T13:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=14314"},"modified":"2024-02-04T08:11:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-04T13:11:08","slug":"the-two-fold-phenomenon-that-goes-further-than-football-and-taylor-swift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/?p=14314","title":{"rendered":"the two-fold phenomenon that goes further than football and Taylor Swift"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oh, isn\u2019t this fun?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suffice it to say (unless any of us have been living under a proverbial rock), we have witnessed a whole new promotional scheme unfold in professional football, one that the NFL\u2019s marketing department never concocted but over which has now undoubtedly found itself both felicitous and gleeful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s called the Taylor Swift phenomenon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is it?<\/em> Why is she so popular?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many indeed have their angles and answers. At only 33 years old, the American singer-songwriter has sold more than 200 million records, is the highest-grossing female touring act, and seems to be just about everybody\u2019s person of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some discuss her meteoric rise in the music industry; she is a fabulous songwriter. Others acknowledge her sustainability, how her music has spanned decades \u2014 writing professionally since 14 \u2014 hence, her current apt-named \u201cEras Tour.\u201d Still more discuss her deliberate fan interaction and ongoing humanitarian efforts. Regardless of the angle, the reality is that Swift is profoundly popular and is indeed having a very good year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of that year includes going public with her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce. Suffice it to say once more, he, too, is having a very good year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supportive of Kelce \u2014 and with the NFL slate equating to 17 regular-season games \u2014 Swift has been present in the stadium to cheer him on. As she has been present \u2014 and as producers are prone to do \u2014 the cameras have oft been focused on her, in a game that\u2019s typically more focused on the football. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fans have noticed. \u201cSwifties,\u201d they are called. According to a no doubt inexact 2023 survey (by Morning Consult), 53% of American adults identify as Taylor Swift fans, from which 44% identify as the more ardent \u201cSwifties.\u201d According to The New Yorker, <\/em>while there is some diversity within her enthusiasts, “Swift’s fanbase skews female, millennial, and white.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that to say that the phenomenon seems two-fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first angle is that persons who never watch football are tuning in. I think of my professional colleague whose 10-year-daughter now sits with him for each weekend game. Across the country, there are countless stories of dad-and-daughter bonding, potentially more so than any organized, middle school dance. I think that\u2019s great. The more the merrier, so-to-speak, and how fun that more want to watch the nation\u2019s most popular sport. Especially entertaining, amusing (or insert-desired-adjective-here) is Swift\u2019s game-time reactions to Kelce\u2019s great plays\u2026 and his not. Oh, this is fun\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the other angle we\u2019ve witnessed, is how we treat the uniqueness of Swift\u2019s profound celebrity status. Let me go further, with absolutely all due respect especially to Taylor Swift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we can get so enamored in the sincerity of our glee, that there\u2019s almost this rush to worship \u2014 a reverence and adoration comparable to religious homage. To be clear, Swift hasn\u2019t asked nor encouraged such a deific response. But yet something is happening. Let\u2019s not dash to immediately conclude it\u2019s all bad. Better yet, let me ask: what does this tell us? What does the angle reveal? <\/em>Note the observations of author Amy Julia Becker, an admitted fan, who joined in the Eras Tour with her family in Massachusetts: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs soon as we arrived at the show, [spouse] Peter and I were both struck by the sense of being in a house of worship. The rituals, the chants, the ecstatic moments, the shared experience, even the reciprocal relationships established through friendship bracelets\u2014it all underscored a sense of awe and transcendence alongside intimacy. People are notably kind to one another at a Taylor Swift show. At Gillette Stadium, even the security guards were smiling widely and dancing in the aisles. Because our oldest daughter has Down syndrome, we were able to stand throughout the show in a section specifically set aside for people with disabilities. It felt holy to stand among other disabled people, watching sign language interpreters and dancing alongside a woman in a wheelchair. The title of Jessica Winter\u2019s recent piece for The New Yorker<\/em> sums it up well: \u2018Bearing Witness with My Daughter at the Church of Taylor Swift.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becker is grateful that of all the celebrities her children may attempt to emulate, they have turned to Swift. Remember: there are many honorable characteristics about Swift, especially in the perceived honesty and tenderness shared in her own, gifted, seemingly transparent lyrics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let me provide a bit more clarity to my pondering of the phenomenon this day\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t see the worship or the so-called \u201cchurch of Taylor Swift\u201d as a necessary source of judgment. Oh, golly\u2026 I\u2019ve worshipped all sorts of lesser things before. But what I do see is a nation in need of something more\u2026 of something better\u2026 craving unity, honesty, goodness and authentic connection. The Taylor Swift phenomenon highlights that glaring need\u2026 and indeed, how we try to find it in all sorts of creative ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respectfully\u2026 (\u2026 and can\u2019t wait for the Super Bowl\u2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh, isn\u2019t this fun? Suffice it to say (unless any of us have been living under a proverbial rock), we have witnessed a whole new promotional scheme unfold in professional football, one that the NFL\u2019s marketing department never concocted but over which has now undoubtedly found itself both felicitous and gleeful. It\u2019s called the Taylor … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “the two-fold phenomenon that goes further than football and Taylor Swift”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-event"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14314"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14324,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14314\/revisions\/14324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intramuralist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}