Sexism in Football (Taylor’s Version)
Not even the most famous woman in the world can escape the male gatekeeping.
As a Swiftie and Chiefs fan (and the mother of two young football fans and mini Swifties), this Taylor Swift-NFL crossover is what my Wildest Dreams are made of. I was as interested in Taylor Swift’s lip color on Sunday as I was in Isiah Pacheco’s rushing yards. And I’m not alone either. There are a lot of us Sporty Swifties out there. (Friends, isn’t this FUN?!)
But apparently this pop culture infusion is just too much for some NFL purists* to handle, and now we got problems.
*Can you hear the snark here? Because you should.
After the Chiefs beat the Jets on the road on Sunday with Taylor in attendance, Sports Illustrated went with this headline: NBC Embarrassed Itself With Chiefs-Jets Broadcast
“From start to finish,” the column says, “the broadcast of Chiefs-Jets was hard to stomach for a legitimate NFL fan. If you aren’t a football fan and just tuned in for the spectacle, then NBC did a great job. But if you cared about the football game, you were treated to a rough three hours.”
It’s me. Hi. I’m a “legitimate NFL fan,” it’s me. And weirdly enough, I had no issues stomaching the broadcast on Sunday because—and I know this is hard to believe, you guys—it was still a broadcast of a football game even though they showed the same woman a few times! Except for a few mentions of Swift and Co., Cris Collinsworth and Mike Tirico called a regular game, just like any other Sunday night matchup.
I also “cared about the football game” (very much, in fact), and I was treated to three hours of entertainment! Were there camera shots of Taylor’s suite? Yes. But they were short and didn’t inhibit our viewing of the game—at all. We didn’t miss a single snap. The only difference from any other Sunday night matchup was that the crowd shots were of the most famous woman in the world instead of your Regular Joe.
Wait a second.
Is it possible that Regular Joes are triggered by—or maybe even jealous of—this beautiful, intelligent, talented, self-made woman?
Naaaaaaaaah.
“You know what Sunday night felt like?” the SI column continues, “It felt like the Super Bowl. A game that is catered to the nonfootball fan. The NFL’s biggest games on Sundays get 20 million to 25 million viewers. The Super Bowl gets 100 million viewers. So the Super Bowl telecast is for the other 70 million to 75 million people in that the actual game is secondary. That’s what happened Sunday. NBC figured it was going to have all these non-NFL fans tune in to see Taylor Swift jump around and make faces in the suite and NBC decided it was going to center the broadcast on those viewers.”
Maybe it’s because I’m just a silly female fan who also likes to “jump around and make faces”* when my team is scoring touchdowns, but I really don’t understand what’s wrong with a game feeling like the Super Bowl. Everyone loves the Super Bowl!
*Weird how no one makes a stink when the camera cuts to the grown ass men in costumes and painted faces, isn’t it? It reminds me of a lyric I heard once: “If I was out flashing my dollars, I'd be a bitch, not a baller.”
And like the Super Bowl, Sunday’s Swiftie-cast drew monster numbers. Per Front Office Sports, the game drew 27 million viewers, the most-watched Sunday show of any kind since last season’s Super Bowl. That means Swifties who are nonfootball fans, or at least irregular football fans, tuned in.
The only way this spike in viewership could be perceived as a negative is if someone doesn’t want Swifties as NFL viewers. And it’s worth noting that Swifties are primarily women.
Wait a second.
Is it possible that there are NFL fans who aren’t comfortable with an influx in female presence?
You know, I think I might be on to something here after all.
Look, do you have to love the shots of Taylor in her suite? No. Can you be annoyed? Sure, although that seems like a waste of energy to me. But you need to quit your bitching. It’s tinged with sexism (see above), and it’s unnecessary.
We’re not taking over your Mojo Dojo Casa House, Ken. You just have some new party guests. They’re not hurting anyone, and who knows, you might even enjoy them if you gave them a chance.
You...YOU Ms. Copley are a joy. (Except for the Longhorn hatred). But it's all fun, right?
Nailed. It.