For Chiefs fan @SwiftieinKC, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce story ‘like living in a dream’
So imagine you’ve been cheering for the Kansas City Chiefs for a very long time, through all the sad, losing seasons and now this joyful new Super Bowl era.
And, you’re also a fan of Taylor Swift from back in your high school days when you bought her debut album. She was 16. You were, too.
And then, bam! Those two worlds collide.
Swift begins a romance with Chiefs star Travis Kelce. The world locks eyes on your hometown and suddenly you’re a content creator living at the epicenter of the biggest celebrity romance in decades.
And that’s how Chiefs-loving Swiftie Jordan Johnson, a tech field project manager who lives in the Northland, became the popular @SwiftieinKC on social media.
Forgot to mention that she was born in 1989 — just like Swift and Kelce.
Can you even?
To her 115,000 followers on TikTok and 27,000 fans on Instagram, she is Jojo, the woman who has been educating Swifties about NFL football over the last year.
Before the Chiefs-Bills game on Sunday, for instance, she gave her followers the lowdown about Harrison Butker’s injury, updated them on Isaiah Pacheco, shared stats on Bills wide receiver Amari Cooper and explained why Swift might be a no-show at the game. (She was right about that.)
“I don’t know how I have these two things that I’m just huge fans of, the Chiefs and Taylor ... intertwined in the most perfect way. But I feel like I’m living in a dream,” Johnson told The Star.
Johnson’s work recently caught the eye of an Australian T-shirt company and now they have partnered to create a Swift-inspired tee that will raise money for Kelce’s 87 & Running charity. It’s styled after the white slogan T-shirt Swift donned in her “22” music video in 2013 and now wears during her Eras Tour shows.
“I came across Jojo’s profile while scrolling through Instagram and was immediately drawn to her enthusiasm and love for Taylor Swift and the Chiefs,” said Stacey Kirtley, owner of Swiftees Empire. “You can tell that she invests in things she’s really passionate about and how genuinely kind and supportive she is.”
Watching one of Johnson’s videos is like riding an express train of enthusiasm. She talks in one speed: Gilmore. She calls to mind fast-talking Lorelai Gilmore of “The Gilmore Girls,” racing through thoughts on Swift’s tour costumes, her streetwear, the return of Kelce’s mustache at training camp, the Chiefs’ bye week, Swift rumors, fake Taylor Nation tweets and more and more.
Over the past few days, all the new Swift Christmas merchandise has her attention. (“It’s the coffee.” she joked.)
She tries to post something every day, which she knows sounds like a lot considering she has a full-time job, is married and has a young son.
“There’s so much happening in the Taylor world right now that there’s just a never-ending amount of things to talk about,” she said.
Johnson’s most popular post so far, with six million views, was a video about Brittany Mahomes making Post Malone take off his Dallas Cowboys coat and wear a Chiefs jacket at a Super Bowl victory party in Las Vegas earlier this year.
Johnson studied communications, media and social media in college — Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, Class of 2012 — but “just never had a chance to pursue it,” she said.
Then she went to the Eras Tour shows at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, both nights, and decided to start creating Swift content.
“And then everything just kind of like ... the stars have aligned,” she said.
Since then Johnson has been to five more Eras Tour shows, in New Orleans, Indianapolis and London.
‘We love hard’
Johnson grew up in Kansas City from age 5. She moved away to Denver for a few years but came back three years ago.
“When I first graduated college, I wanted to go into sports media and ... I had a hard time getting traction because it’s very hard to be a woman in a traditionally man’s space like that,” she said.
“And so I started creating Swiftie content, because that was safe for me, I know that like the back of my hand. I was actually very hesitant to start doing Chiefs and football content, even after Taylor and Travis were open about their relationship.
“And then, suddenly I just kinda decided to full-send it and just do it and talk football. People will hate no matter what I post, so I might as well post what makes me happy.”
Johnson found a timely sweet spot. Team execs say there are more women in Chiefs Kingdom today than there were before Swift joined the fan base.
“I certainly don’t own the lane,” Johnson said “I know a lot of creators talk a lot about the Chiefs and stuff. (But) I felt like there was this need for someone who was a Swiftie and who already was a football fan to kind of walk Swifties through who were new to football.”
The first football video she made explained why a player would slide on the 1-yard line to stop the game clock instead of scoring a touchdown.
“Since then I’ve kind of gone to the basics, here’s who you need to watch for this game, here’s what you could see happen or let’s explore why this happened,” she said.
Turned out Swifties are fast learners.
“I will have Swifties in my comments section say, ‘When will (Chiefs running back Isiah) Pacheco be back? When will we see (receiver Hollywood (Brown) play this year?’ And they’re really asking those questions because they are invested.
“We’re a fandom, and when we love, we love hard. So it has evolved pretty easily.”
Every time she posts anything about football, someone invariably accuses her of “liking the Chiefs because of Taylor,” she said.
It’s not true. But, Johnson added, “My response to that is usually, ‘Who cares?’ I’ve never seen people inside the Kansas City Chiefs fandom get upset with someone being a quote-unquote bandwagon fan. We were so bad for so long, at this point it’s like come one, come all.
“We don’t care how you got here as long as you’re here.”
Swift makes Arrowhead buzz
Johnson appreciates how much Swift, “the biggest star in the world,” has immersed herself into local Chiefs culture.
She recalled how over the summer Swift couldn’t attend the team’s Super Bowl ring ceremony at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. But when Chariah Gordon, fiance of Chiefs receiver Mecole Hardman Jr., went live on TikTok, Swift chimed in from her tour.
“She’s a girl’s girl, I feel,” said Johnson. “I really appreciate that about her, that she is branching out and meeting different people in the Chiefs organization and supporting Kristin (Juszczyk) when she made that coat and supporting the woman who knit her that stocking cap.”
Even Arrowhead itself feels different when Swift is in the house, Johnson said.
“It’s just more exciting and just a general happier vibe,” she said. “When we go to Chiefs games we obviously get there before Taylor does. Everyone’s already buzzing, everyone’s excited. But the minute she’s in the building, everything just sort of gets kicked up a notch. Everyone’s excited because Taylor’s there, too.
“And it’s just the coolest thing. And I just love Kansas City for the way we’ve supported her and Travis.”
Non-Swift fans don’t understand what a treat it is to see Swift at Chiefs games, she said. There was a time not long ago when sightings of Swift in the so-called wild were rare.
“It’s even more important for Swifties because (for) so long in Taylor Swift’s career, she didn’t make any public appearances, let alone show up to a boyfriend’s game,” she said. “And seeing her now almost every week, going just to be there and have fun and support Travis and the chiefs, is just like extra special.”
After Swift released her fifth studio album, “1989,” in 2014, “she kind of went into hiding because of internet bullying,” she said. “And then the pandemic happened. And she, of course, stayed in lockdown.
“So we didn’t get many public appearances from Taylor Swift between like 2017 all the way to probably 2022. You can probably count on two hands the amount of times she was seen publicly.
“So then comparing that to, how many Chiefs games has she been to just this year, seven? That’s a lot.”
Johnson’s also proud of how Kansas Citians give Swift and Kelce privacy when they’re out and about in town.
“A lot of Swifties online really refer to Kansas City as this sort of safe bubble for her,” she said.
“Even at the Chiefs game. People aren’t turned around filming her 24/7. They’re not completely gawking at her the whole time. Of course people are taking photos and video, but it’s not what you would expect when Taylor Swift is there.
“We heard that she was at a Christmas pop-up bar last year and there wasn’t a swarm of people waiting outside the bar. People respected that space and let them do their thing.”
The ‘22’ shirt
When Johnson received an email from Kirtley at Swiftees Empire suggesting a fashion collaboration, she liked the idea of supporting a woman-owned business, much like Swift herself has been known to do.
Kirtley started selling versions of Swift’s famous “22” shirt when she wanted one for her daughter’s birthday but didn’t like the designs already out there.
“Then she hit me with, ‘I would like to donate a portion of the proceeds to a charity of your choice.’ I was immediately like, I will do whatever she asks,” Johnson said.
Johnson knew she wanted the money — $1 from every shirt sold — to go to Kelce’s charity.
The $39 T-shirt says: “Patrick is Ma Homie. Travis is My King.”
“It’s a play on ‘King of My Heart’ lyrics. It’s for the Chiefs and my city, so that’s perfect,” said Johnson.
Johnson posts often about Swift’s personal style. She likes the singer’s new Travis Era look — a little bit sexier, owning her womanhood.
“She’s owning the fact that she’s 35, she’s beautiful, she’s at the top of her game. Why not?” said Johnson.
“She is like oozing confidence right now. It is just like she is glowing. She is walking in so tall and just so ready for it.
“I think honestly as someone who’s been a fan of hers for so long, seeing the confidence that she has right now, I think that’s what we’re seeing evolve most for her style, is that she’s taking more risk, she’s being a little more bold, being more flashy. It’s all, in my opinion, a result of all that confidence just outwardly reflecting from inside.”
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