'Show the Players,' Not Taylor Swift, Says Annoyed NFL Legend: 'It's Just a Little Bit Too Much'
Five-time Pro Bowler and four-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski spoke for lifelong NFL fans everywhere.
Wednesday on the “Up and Adams” podcast, Gronkowski complained that the relentless focus on the budding relationship between pop megastar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has gone too far.
“It’s just a little bit too much,” Gronkowski said.
Host Kay Adams had argued that NFL fans should welcome the new viewers Swift brings. Gronkowski disagreed.
“We want more football. Yes, it’s fine that you show her, but not every single play,” he said.
A smiling Adams then acknowledged that players who score touchdowns might prefer the cameras on them.
“Exactly. That’s my point. Show the players. Show the player celebrations,” Gronkowski said.
.@RobGronkowski says there is TOO MUCH Taylor Swift on TV during NFL games 👀@heykayadams, however, disagrees pic.twitter.com/zMZMmYBX8g
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) October 25, 2023
Coincidentally, perhaps, Gronkowski played the same position Kelce does. In fact, they rate as by far the most accomplished tight ends in recent NFL history.
The NFL, however, appears fixated on short-term ratings.
According to CNN, for instance, Swift’s appearance at New York’s MetLife Stadium for a September game between the Chiefs and Jets resulted in the highest Sunday ratings since the Super Bowl in February. Viewership for that game also included “a 53% surge among teenaged girls.”
Based on those numbers, the NFL has pressed its network partners to promote Swift. In fact, the league might have its sights set on the singer performing during the Super Bowl halftime show, according to RedState.
Breitbart pointed at CBS as the worst offender, calling its Swift-filled coverage of Kansas City’s 31-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday “especially egregious.”
What to make of all this?
Well, the NFL likely will ignore my advice, but I will offer it nonetheless: Swift is a temptress. Do not fall for her.
That has nothing to do with her personal life, about which I neither know nor care. Nor do I blame her for all the attention. In fact, as a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I cheerfully admit that I probably like Swift more than I like Gronkowski, Kelce or the Chiefs.
I mean only that she tempts the league with short-term gains at the expense of long-term fans. By shifting focus away from the game itself, the NFL runs a serious risk of alienating veteran viewers.
As a boy, I followed the league with a semi-religious passion. And that level of interest persisted into adulthood. There was a time when, if asked, I could have rattled off every Super Bowl winner, loser, final score, MVP, location and other obscure bits of useless information.
Today, I pay attention to such things far less closely than I once did, but I still watch. Each week, in fact, I watch the Steelers with my dad and brother-in-law. If another game piques my interest, I watch.
But I watch the game. I care nothing for the peripherals. If I sense that the league is trying to push something other than the game, I do not watch. I have no problem tuning out.
One man’s experience, of course, does not make a trend. The NFL might regard my lifelong, every-week viewership as secure enough to justify Swift mania.
The damage that does, however — though imperceptible at first — will become cumulative. And in a few years, the league might wonder what happened to its viewership.
Eventually, the NFL will have to choose between loyal fans and teenage girls.
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