Patrick Mahomes acknowledged that Taylor Swift becoming a member of Chiefs Kingdom helped take the team’s fan base into the next stratosphere.
Mahomes, 29, discussed Swift’s impact on the franchise during the first episode of The Kingdom, premiering Thursday, August 14, at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
“I’m interested to see what camp looks like this year,” Mahomes said while making his way to the first day of the Chiefs 2024 training camp at Missouri Western State University. “Obviously, we got a big fan base with the Swifties coming. I’m interested to see if it’s even crazier, if that makes sense.”
He added, “We’ve got a lot of media around us.”
Swift, of course, is dating Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. The pop star, 35, made her first appearance at a Chiefs game in September 2023 when the team hosted the Chicago Bears at Arrowhead Stadium.
After spending the summer globe trotting with Swift, Kelce was ready to get back to some normalcy.
“I asked Travis after staying the summer at five-star hotels around the world, what was it going to be like to come back for training camp,” Kansas City Star writer Blair Kerkhoff recalled in the docuseries, which was filmed last year. “He said he missed the cinder block walls of training camp.”
Upon arrival at camp, Kelce, 35, was greeted by fans of his A-list girlfriend, with the series showing one young girl holding a sign reading: “Go Taylor’s boyfriend.”
“One of the coolest things about being here in Kansas City is that it does feel like a big ol’ family,” Kelce said in a testimonial. “We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of the same guys come in year in, year out. The core group has been here for quite a bit now.”
Kelce was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013, while Mahomes was selected by the team in 2017. Both future Hall of Famers have spent the entirety of their careers with the franchise.
“This is our dream job,” Kelce said. “Everybody has spent their entire lives wanting to play in the National Football League. Not only that, but play for championships. Play for Super Bowls.”
He added, “I think the model of success is just the desire to keep finding new ways to reach the mountaintop, and to have the fire to do it every single year.”
The first two episodes of The Kingdom premiere Thursday, August 14, on ESPN at 9 and 10 p.m. ET, with episodes 3 and 4 premiering on Tuesday, August 19, and episodes 5 and 6 premiering on Wednesday, August 20.
