Opinion: Sick of hearing about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce? Lighten up and enjoy
I’m not an avid celebrity watcher — my life has plenty of riveting drama on its own — but I enjoy public love stories; most recently, the one that has captured so much attention that I wonder how anyone (or anything) can survive the blinding glare of that spotlight. And yes, here’s one more opinion about the budding romance between Travis and Taylor.
No last names are needed for this couple, but just to please my editors who are sticklers for details, I’ll do some love-splaining. Uberfamous singer Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce have been an item since she attended his football game in September, adding a flirty element to an already interesting NFL season. (At the time, I was still hopeful that my hometown Miami Dolphins would make it all the way.)
Since that first sighting, hardly a day goes by without some media report about the famous couple. It frothed into a crescendo before, during and after the Super Bowl, when viewers kept tabs on how often the camera cut over to The Girlfriend. There were breathless reports of Taylor’s private jet traveling from Tokyo to the U.S., commentary about whom she sat with, and then a closeup of the kissy-kissy congratulations after the Chiefs’ overtime victory. Eager to capitalize on all this interest, the NFL even released footage of what exactly Kelce told Taylor.
“Come here, baby girl,” he said, when the couple finally reunited on the field.
Awww. I’m a sucker for ardor and adoration. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and it sure beats the despair that sometimes floods my soul.
Not surprisingly, however, the cynics have had a field day. At the beginning, the Travis-Taylor romance was questioned as a publicity stunt, as if either needed (or wanted) more of the limelight. Then the hate bloomed in earnest. I’m not going to drag myself down by detailing it, but my teenage granddaughters — who are my connection to anything that is trendsetting — informed me that the songwriter is no stranger to hate. In her mega-hit “Shake it
Off,” the lyrics include: “And the haters are gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.”
Sure, there’s the element of celebrity fatigue, when too much exposure makes us roll our eyes, but I’ve seen comments online that leave me shaking my head. Ugliness knows no bounds. I don’t get it. Me, I prefer light over shadow, hope instead of negativity, joy rather than misery any day of the week.
The world can be a harsh, unforgiving place, our experiences a tough challenge. Why not enjoy the glow of love, even if it’s not ours? Why not celebrate that very human need to find love to help us navigate the inevitable tribulations we must face?
I, for one, need a reprieve from the relentless torrent of depressing news that leaves me alarmed about the future. It’s so hard to get away from it, though.
Let’s start with the shooting at the parade celebrating the Chiefs’ victory, where a mother of two was killed, an event that has become far too common in a country that worships its guns more than its children. Two adults have been arrested and are facing seconddegree murder charges.
On the national landscape, a former U.S. president faces 91 felony charges, the Republican Party’s in-fighting cost us a potential solution to the border crisis, and the current president’s age and mental acuity are being questioned.
Farther afield, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East appear to have no end. Innocent people are being massacred in Sudan.
Demoralizing? Absolutely.
So, if I get the chance to bask in romance, whether it’s a private or public relationship, I’m going to choose that every time.