Chiefs long snapper James Winchester thought Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s romance was just smoke and mirrors when they were first linked last summer.
But when he spotted her in Kelce’s family suite while at the Chiefs-Bears game on Sept. 24, which marked her first public appearance supporting Kelce at work, Winchester was impressed — and he said Kelce was blushing and smiling.
“That was an interesting spectacle,” Winchester said on Wednesday’s installment of the “Like a Farmer Podcast” when Pat Spinosa said Swift’s brought a new fanbase to the NFL. “We’d heard rumors [about Travis and Taylor dating] … It wasn’t until the Chicago game in Kansas City … It’s towards the end of the game and one of our equipment managers, Jay White, I was standing with him on the sideline and were doing pretty well that game, we were winning pretty big.
“I just made this comment and I said, ‘Jay I think this is all made up. I think this is a big rumor,’” Winchester recalled. “And Jay looked at me and he goes, “No dude, she’s here,’ and I was like, ‘What?’ … and he goes, ‘She’s right there.’
“… I was like, ‘That’s it, that’s Taylor Swift. That’s cool. She’s here.’”
Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
That’s when Winchester said he walked up to Kelce on the sideline and approached him about Swift being there.
“I’m like, ‘Hey man, that’s cool she’s here,’ and he’s like, ‘What do you mean? Did they put her up on the Jumbotron or something?’ and I’m like, ‘No, no, Jay just told me,’” Winchester recalled.
“I was like, ‘that’s awesome, good for you’ and he was just smiling and was kind of blushing.”
James went on to explain that he saw the couple “get on a cart” while walking up a ramp after Chiefs beat the Bears 41-10.
“So we’re walking by, and made some jokes to him on the way by, and
After meeting Swift later that night, Winchester recalled the singer asking him about his three kids he shares with his wife, Emily.
The first thing she said was, “’Hey you’re the guy with the cute kids,’” because we had my son and daughter out on the field and I’m like, ‘I think I just became a T Swift fan.’”
in the Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in
Las Vegas, Nevada. AP
Winchester explained that Swift grew on him after being around her during the 2023 season.
“I mean I’m a fan of her because being around her this year and hearing everything she’s such a genuine person. And where it might’ve gotten old for people seeing all of that posted. For us, it was great. It wasn’t a distraction. Couldn’t be happier for Trav and her and that whole deal. It seems like a really good thing for him and her.
“Then her support all the way through the Super Bowl it was awesome… For those out there who got a little tired of the T Swift stuff when they were watching the Chiefs, I’m sure they got a little tired of them showing them too, so it was a mutual thing there. Getting to meet her family and have conversations with them throughout the year was fun.”
Dave Merritt, a defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, previously said that Swift attended Kelce’s games before she was spotted at one for the first time last September.
Kelce and Swift went public with their relationship when they stepped out together holding hands while in New York City in October.