"Taylor Swift curse" haunts Travis Kelce against Miami Dolphins
Frankfurt, Germany - The "Taylor Swift hex," associated with the pop star's no-show at a Kansas City Chiefs game, was in full swing on Sunday, casting its spell on star tight end Travis Kelce.
You can't deny the "Tay-lytics" phenomenon!
In the realm of football, it seems that Travis Kelce morphs into a statistical superstar whenever his girlfriend graces the game with her presence.
However, when Swift isn't in attendance, Kelce's performance takes a nosedive, and unfortunately, this trend persisted in Week 9.
In the Chiefs' overseas showdown against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Kansas City secured a 21-14 victory, partly due to some late mistakes by Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.
As for Kelce, his lackluster showing was evident, with only three catches for a mere 14 yards and no touchdowns.
Fans couldn't resist drawing comparisons between Kelce's statistics when Swift was present as compared to when she was absent from the stadium, which has emerged as a pretty consistent pattern since their whirlwind romance began.
Can Travis Kelce regain his prowess without Taylor Swift in attendance?
The game against the Dolphins on Sunday was the second consecutive one without Swift's presence, and it also marked the second successive lackluster performance by Kelce.
Last week, the Chiefs endured a tough loss to the Denver Broncos, and Kelce's on-field performance suffered as well.
In that game, he netted just 58 yards, which was a whopping 100 yards less than the impressive showing he had when Swift graced the game against the LA Chargers the week before.
Kelce and his brother, Jason, playfully discussed the Shake It Off singer's magic presence last month on their podcast, New Heights, presented by Wave Sports + Entertainment.
In the October 25 episode, the Philadelphia Eagles center pointed out that his younger brother averaged 99 yards with Swift in attendance but just 46.5 yards without her. With Sunday's Chiefs-Dolphins game, that sans-Swift average has gone down even further.
To clinch their Super Bowl title defense in February, the Chiefs might need a little Swiftian magic.
The Chiefs will host a Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles on November 20, but with the songstress performing in Brazil the night before, Kelce may have to figure out how to break the curse.
Cover photo: Collage: VALERIE MACON & KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP