THIS season in the NFL, singer and all-round pop culture obsession Taylor Swift has been a televised feature in every Kansas City Chiefs game that she has attended.
The 34-year-old has been a regular attendee to Chiefs games after confirming her relationship with tight end Travis Kelce.
Many fans have been spouting their annoyance of the camera cuts to her in a box with Donna “Mama” Kelce and Brittany Mahomes – wife to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
In the Chiefs’ 26-7 win over Miami Dolphins, Swift was seen dancing in the box and, well, enjoying herself.
The stream of Tweets angered many and ignited a united response from fans of the league, fans of Swift and those that won’t tolerate the misogyny.
It was highlighted online that these complaints are not made when the likes of actors Matthew McConaughey and Bradley Cooper are seen walking the touchlines at Texas and Eagles games.
Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs game last weekend, however, also sparked a new discourse around women’s sports apparel.
It is a common sighting for women’s fan-wear of different sports teams to be jerseys designed to be tighter, with shorter sleeves and revealing v-neck shapes.
Additionally, jerseys of women’s teams – the England Lionesses, for example – only sell their shirts in fairly tight-fitting women’s sizes.
Why can’t both women and men be comfortable in what they wear when supporting their favourite team?
Swift was seen arriving to the game in a custom-made winter coat, which was designed and made by Kristin Juszczyk – wife of San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
The -20 degrees Celsius temperatures required extra layers, and Juszczyk used the fabric from a Kelce jersey to remodel it into a fleece-lined coat.
The popularity of the design has led to her making the same for seven-time Olympic medalist Simon Biles, who, last year, married Green Bay Packers strong safety Jonathon Owens.
The uniqueness of the designs has garnered immediate attention, and Swift’s influence could propel the demand for appropriate women’s sports fan-wear to be taken seriously.
The subject has many entangled branches that still need to be chopped down, but last weekend was a positive step in the right direction.
It isn’t the first (or the last) time that male NFL supporters will publicly announce their distaste, but they will have to firstly get past Kelce and Juszczyk to gain any more ground.
