Why Taylor Swift was absent from the second Travis Kelce football game

Travis Kelce didn't start his season with the Kansas City Chiefs with a bang, and now it seems like Taylor Swift is taking a backseat in the stands. It's a notable difference from last season, when the 34-year-old pop star was spotted in the Arrowhead Stadium suites at every opportunity.

There could be a good reason for her absence after clearly missing two games in a row. Swift appears to be getting out of the conversation that she is distracting from Kelce's successful athletic career. The discourse began on Monday, September 24, when sports commentator Todd McShay expressed a misogynistic view on why the tight end was having a slow start to the season.

“Every show I watch over the last few weeks, every pregame show, every halftime show, every postgame show, every weekday show, every show I watch, it’s like we’re not allowed to say that he is out of shape? That he partied all offseason? He flew around with probably the most famous person in the world,” he continued The Ryen Russell Podcast. The network didn't mention Swift by name, but fans understood exactly where he was going with his argument.

“I want you to take a photo from the 2022 preseason and then a photo from the 2024 preseason, they are hardly the same person,” McShay added. “Here's the thing with Kelce: The coverage and respect he gets is the same, but the athlete isn't.” Swift may not want to participate in McShay's discussion, so it's easier to stay away from the game and her friend's rebuttal to take place on the football field.

Still, Kelce has Swift's support and he has the support of Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers Rashee Rice, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman, who all took a stand by wearing custom T-shirts with pictures of their teammate. Per CBS Sports Reporter Tracy Wolfson on that the team is behind the couple. It's time to just shake it off and let Kelce do his job.

Before you go, click here to watch All of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's cutest PDA moments.