That’s the way it is, though. As evidence, note that after your Denver Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 24-9 yesterday, October 29, the most dominant themes on the Service Formerly Known as Twitter didn’t highlight the fact that the Men of Orange had just defeated the reigning Super Bowl champions for the first time since 2015. No, the top takes focused on the decision by the Empower Field at Mile High sound crew to troll the Chiefs, Taylor and the rest of her squad by playing another one of her hits after the final whistle blew: “Shake It Off.”
For those who haven’t looked at social media since just after the release of the “Double Rainbow” video, Swift’s latest boy toy is Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — and each time she’s attended one of his games, viewership among females has swelled, as have the future Hall of Famer’s stats. During the CBS broadcast of the contest on Sunday, iconic announcer Kevin Harlan revealed that Big Trav’s yardage figures this campaign were more than twice as high when Taylor was present than when she wasn’t in an on-site luxury suite, high-fiving everyone within reach.
That proved to be the case against the Broncos, too. Kelce didn’t have a bad performance, but his six catches for 58 yards and zero touchdowns qualified as subpar by his standards.
Then again, the Broncos needed a lot more than Swift’s absence to secure a victory over the Chiefs, who had run up sixteen consecutive Ws since Peyton Manning hung up his jock strap — a perfect storm of circumstances that finally allowed them to walk away from this matchup with heads held high.
Most important was the condition of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who’d reportedly spent most of the weekend with IVs attached to his arm in an attempt to counteract a bad case of the flu. Mahomes played the entire contest, even after winding up with gashes on his non-throwing hand, but clearly wasn’t himself. His personal turnover total: two interceptions and a lost fumble.
Add these gaffes to another fumble by receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and a muffed punt by Mecole Hardman Jr. that also wound up in Broncos hands, and it’s a wonder that the Chiefs were still within striking distance in the fourth quarter.
As for Denver, Russell Wilson looked adequate at best; he tossed touchdown passes to running back Javonte Williams and wide-outs Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy, but misfired on several additional tosses to open teammates and was sacked six times — mostly because he continues to hold the ball too damn long. If it weren’t for a suddenly competent running attack led by Williams and rookie upstart Jaleel McLaughlin, the Broncos easily could have wound up on the losing end despite the Chiefs’ beneficence.
In some ways, Denver’s triumph could hurt the outfit overall. The franchise’s 3-5 record going into its bye week makes getting to the playoffs an incredible long shot, yet the team is just good enough to likely prevent a possible fire sale that could have resulted in trades of Sutton and Jeudy, among others. A miraculous improvement remains far less likely than another mediocre finish.
Still, the Broncos’ unlikely coup was undeniably fun for long-suffering loyalists — and so are the Swift reactions to it. See what we mean by counting down our picks for the twenty most memorable post-game clapbacks.
Number 20:
Thanks Taylor pic.twitter.com/bIf06OSLOC
— @PlugGreenHydrogen (@wind4me) October 29, 2023
Number 19:
The @Broncos played Taylor Swift pic.twitter.com/ZOBWhqE6nN
— 𝕊𝕝𝕒𝕪𝕚ℕ (@SlayiNSlays) October 30, 2023
Number 18:
Broncos won cuz Taylor wasn’t there
— Asian Lee (@p5asianlee) October 30, 2023
Number 17:
NO Taylor Swift NO Chiefs W
— BlackFyre (@Akarei8) October 30, 2023
Number 16:
Will mahomes get smoke for getting outplayed by Russ and the sorry broncos? Or I guess we gonna say he was injured and Taylor swift wasn’t there so it’s a pass
— BennyfromtheBronx (@BennyfromtheB) October 30, 2023
Number 15:
Taylor Swift released new single after the Kansas City Chiefs loss today it’s called
Broncos country let’s ride pic.twitter.com/RlxEn1QayT— The Irrelevant Fan Couple (@bagsfan75_Tony) October 30, 2023
Number 14:
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce would’ve broken up if she was at this Chiefs-Broncos game.
— Jenna (@jnrod_1776) October 30, 2023
Number 13:
the way i read this as the broncos are playing football against taylor swift like https://t.co/VsFMRUDMZJ pic.twitter.com/ETrG16Qhmy
— sophia 2.0 (@lovr23_) October 30, 2023
Number 12:
I DONT CARE that the broncos started blaring Taylor Swift at the end of the game. Get that shit off my timeline. Omg!! Give it a rest.
— Paul Gibbs (@TheBigGibber) October 30, 2023
Number 11:
What happens with the Broncos doesn’t really matter…playoffs or not…that 16 game losing streak to that team is over….Broncos dominated time of possession, Force Turnovers and 75% run 25% pass..don’t care if Mahomes was “sick”…don’t care that Taylor Swift missed the game
— Arsenal9986 (@catanddog4824) October 30, 2023
Number 10:
hey #swifties travis kelce just lost to one of the worst teams in the nfl
he never lost to the broncos until he started dating your beloved taylor
— (@sad_longhorn) October 30, 2023
Number 9:
fuck the chiefs
fuck travis kelce
fuck taylor swiftgo broncos 🙂
— Andrew (@cantsleeprn) October 30, 2023
Number 8:
@Harris_JHS My Project Has Come True!!!
Patrick Mahomes Hurt His Hand, and If patrick mahomes doesn’t throw kelce touchdowns then the Chiefs lose, Well if Kelce Doesn’t Score then Taylor Swift wasn’t there! What Can I say, I Can predict the future!Broncos Country! Lets Ride!
— MarioZakrzewski_23 (@MarioZakrzewsk2) October 30, 2023
Number 7:
Taylor Swift “Say you’ll beat the Broncos again, even if it’s just pretend. In your wildest dreammmms”
— stivovo (@fattyk72) October 30, 2023
Number 6:
Yep! But if Taylor doesn’t look to be in a great mood, you can chalk that up to an asterisk as well, or even if she seems happy they could be secretly fighting, asterisk for sure. Best to assume no Chiefs loss is legitimate
— Joe M (@jFudgy_) October 29, 2023
Number 5:
No Taylor swift so not rigged !
— AdamFerrari (@TFerrari64) October 29, 2023
Number 4:
Broncos beat Chiefs. Who the hell did Taylor Swift piss off in the NFL office to make them go off script like this
— Career Ender JP (@thelegendjackp) October 29, 2023
Number 3:
Denver Broncos just beat the Kansas City Chiefs. Taylor Swift was not in attendance, apparently. pic.twitter.com/2BKTxBoKMs
— Calvin Turner (@calvin8turner) October 29, 2023
Number 2:
So is Taylor Swift going to write a song how @Broncos broke her heart?
— timmah (@Timmah1979) October 29, 2023
Number 1:
As a Broncos fan I’m glad Taylor wasn’t there today pic.twitter.com/KIJOsw73uq
— bailey 🪩 (@inyour_cardigan) October 29, 2023