We don't let it out much, but the staff here at Paddlin Upstream live on the cutting edge of pop culture. In times like these, there's only one story worth repeating.
Yes, we, like you I'm sure, are celebrating the engagement of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. A match made in mass market heaven. A union so perfect it was clearly scripted by people who can write that kind of stuff. Commercial copywriters, most likely.
Two separate worlds with two separate populations. The fashion, glitz and drama of the music and art world meets the sweat and savagery of a brutal yet beautiful ritualistic sport rooted in violence.
Taylor and Travis sing the Swifties. Travis and Taylor bellow the ballers. Fashion finds football and once again, there can be dreams of peace in our time.
Excuse us for waxing sentimental, but a Kelce/Swift union could be that magical merger of menageries that make just enough of a link to pull the fragile center back together.
Seriously.
It's like Taylor's song, you know the one where she sings that line. You know the line. Trust me, it's in a song. I'm sure of it, look it up.
Alright. I have to admit here I don't know any of Taylor's songs. I am no Swiftie. But I don't have to be. I get it and I say more power to her. What I do know is Travis Kelce is a first ballot Hall of Famer, multiple Super Bowl champion, and still one of the most reliable players on one of the best teams in football.
And when she shows up at one of his games, the already high number of television viewers for that game triples. Televised NFL games had an average of 17.5 million viewers in 2024. Taylor has 87 million monthly listeners and at least a dozen songs with over a billion streams each on Spotify alone.
It's like the Emperor of Rome mating with the Queen of Egypt. Or something like that. Whatever, that makes for one wide swath of influence. More than all the self appointed social media "influencers" combined.
Just a minute. I'm sensing something. Is it? Is that skepticism? It is! No, we're not going to have any of that negative stuff here. You're not going to harsh my happy. I know what you're thinking.
First, this will not be like some of the pop culture/sport unions of the past. This is no Marilyn Monroe/Joe DiMaggio thing. Or Halle Berre/David Justice. And definitely not a Robin Givens/Mike Tyson.
No this is more of a...um...there's probably one but the staff is on a smoke break and I don't want to wait for them. It's its own unique union of two incredible and unique people who remind us we may come from different places but that doesn't stop us from pulling in the same direction to create something beautiful. Besides a really big joint bank account.
Think about it, if the jocks and the band kids can find common ground in this country, imagine how much crap could be left behind. It may be the various chemicals talking, but that kind of change could...dare I say it, make America gravy again.