Count Colin Cowherd as a Swiftie — and he’s calling out the people who’ve slammed her appearances during NFL broadcasts.
Ever since the “Shake it Off” pop sensation started dating star Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce this season, she’s appeared at plenty of his games, and in turn, plenty of NFL telecasts have shown Swift while she’s cheering on her man, much to the chagrin of some football diehards.
And while there have been complaints from some sections of football fanbases, Cowherd is not among those who believe the hate is warranted.
In fact, on an episode of FS1’s “The Herd” on Tuesday, the sports pundit chimed in on the vitriol toward Swift and the coverage of her presence at Chiefs games.
“There’s a lot of really weird, lonely, insecure men out there,” Cowherd said on his show. “The fact that a pop star — the world’s biggest pop star — is dating a star tight end who had one of his greatest games ever, and the network puts them on the air briefly, then it bothers you, what does that say about your life? Judge people sometimes on the silly stuff that bothers them — it’ll tell you a lot about them.”
Cowherd then went on about how football games broadcast on TV aren’t just really football games.
“When I hear this whole thing about Taylor Swift, ‘I just wanna watch football!’ you’re lying. You’re lying. That’s not true. A football telecast is not just football. In fact, the commercials four hours before the Super Bowl will be widely watched.
“Did you know statistically in a three-and-a-half-hour football playoff broadcast — or regular-season broadcast — just 18 minutes are actual football.”
While Swift’s face has been shown at the games she attends — a lot of times celebrating in a suite with Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany or Kelce’s family — Cowherd cited a New York Times report that the singer is generally put on screen for less than 25 seconds.
She beat that average, albeit slightly, during Sunday’s AFC title game, when she was shown four times and for 32 seconds during CBS’ coverage of the game, per the Times.
Cowherd said it would’ve been nonsensical for CBS to not show Swift, as the network also broadcasts the Grammy Awards.
He went on to say people have not shown the same level of anger when celebs like Spike Lee and Jack Nicholson are seen at basketball games.
“But a talented and beautiful woman is on the air — one who would never pay attention to lonely men — and it bothers them,” Cowherd added.
Whether or not she beats the 25 seconds of TV coverage during the 2024 Super Bowl when the Chiefs take on the Ravens on Feb 11, her presence at the Big Game in Las Vegas will inevitably garner much fanfare.
