The Taylor Swift effect has taken the NFL by storm this season, with the pop superstar bringing renewed interest to the league due to her relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Kelce and Swift's relationship became public knowledge around the beginning of the 2023 NFL season and, with the Chiefs the defending Super Bowl champions, it only added to the already huge media interest in the team.
When the Chiefs triumphed over the Buffalo Bills in the play-offs last month, it became the most-watched divisional play-off game ever, and the following week when they won against the Baltimore Ravens to reach Super Bowl LVIII, it became the most-watched AFC Championship game ever.
Of course, the presence of Swift in the crowds has been largely responsible for the huge spike in viewership for Chiefs games this season, with her immense fanbase taking a new interest in the sport.
In recent weeks, however, bizarre conspiracy theories have emerged from the American far right suggesting that Swift and Kelce's relationship is part of an elaborate plan to ensure that Donald Trump is defeated in November's US Presidential Election. Naturally, the NFL's Commissioner Roger Goodell has moved quickly to shut down the "nonsense" jargon.
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Super Bowl LVIII: NFL commissioner addresses strange Taylor Swift conspiracies
Several right-wing conspiracy influencers have in recent weeks conflated the tense US Presidential Race with the blossoming romance between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
Swift has previously endorsed Democratic candidates in both mid-term and Presidential elections. Despite this, the theories going so far as to suggest that the outcome of Sunday's Super Bowl will be rigged in favour of the Kansas City Chiefs in order to (and this might be a stretch now) ensure a victory for Joe Biden in November are absolutely ludicrous.
Thankfully, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has swiftly (pun intended) moved to shut down the wild rumours from right-wing influencers suggesting that the season has been scripted to keep Kelce and Swift in the spotlight:
I don't think I'm that good a scripter, or anybody on our staff. There's no way I could have scripted that one, let's put it that way.
I think the idea that this was a script, that this was pre-planned, that's nonsense. It's frankly not even worth talking about.
We see two people together having fun together - that's wonderful. I wish them well, they're both wonderful people.
Even if the Chiefs had not progressed this far, the relationship between Swift and Kelce would undoubtedly have been one of the biggest news stories of this NFL season.
The impact on viewership figures has been immense. Kelce was already a well-liked figure in the NFL, due to his amicable nature and his podcast with brother Jason, but his fame has skyrocketed in recent months.
Goodell went on to pay tribute to both Swift and Kelce for what they have done for the league this season:
She's a remarkable performer, she's the best of the best. The Taylor Swift effect is all positive. Travis and Taylor are wonderful young people. They seem very happy.
She knows great entertainment and I think that's why she loves NFL football. It's great to have her part of it. Obviously, it creates buzz, so another group of young fans, particularly young women, are interested in seeing why she is interested in this game.
Kelce is set to play a crucial role in Sunday's big game, with the Kansas City Chiefs seeking to become the first team in 20 years to win back-to-back Super Bowls, and claim their third title in five years.
They will face the same team they beat in the first of those Super Bowl triumphs, the San Francisco 49ers - slight favourites with the bookies after a 12-5 regular season run. The Chiefs took a surprise win in the AFC Championship Game against #1 seed the Baltimore Ravens, while the 49ers came from behind in dramatic fashion in the NFC Championship Game against the Detroit Lions.
Kick-off at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is at 11:30pm Irish time, and the game is live on Sky Sports NFL and Virgin Media Two.
Whether Taylor Swift will be in attendance is a matter of some speculation, given the pop star is performing on her current tour in Tokyo the day before the game.
On Sunday night, Swift became the first artist in history to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year on four separate occasions and also announced the upcoming release of her 11th album, The Tortured Poets Department.
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