Australian media goes wild for arrival of Chiefs’ Travis Kelce — and a trip to zoo
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s first trip of 2024 to see girlfriend Taylor Swift in concert might be marred by weather.
The forecast for Friday night’s “Eras Tour” show in Sydney calls for thunderstorms, large hail and damaging storms, according to 9 News. That’s the first of four shows Swift has planned in the city.
But potential weather issues is a minor story Down Under compared to Kelce’s arrival. Video of the plane carrying Kelce and his friend and former Chiefs teammate Ross Travis landing in Sydney was shown live on local television (there were lots of “touchdown” puns).
Actor Jim O’Heir of “Parks and Recreation” fame was interviewed on Australia’s “The Today Show” and was asked if he could identify Kelce stepping off the private jet.
That’s not a joke. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, right?
One of the “Today Show” hosts later called Kelce “Taylor Swift’s loverboy.”
A Sky News Australia broadcaster said: “Well, if you’re over Taylor Swift, it’s still got a couple more days to go because Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce has just arrived in Sydney.”
And the Daily Telegraph had a story with the headline, “Nation baffled by Travis Kelce double.” That was about the confusion about Ross Travis that required O’Heir’s expertise.
Brielle Burns and Benedict Brook wrote: “Every major Australian network – including ABC, Nine, Ten and Seven – pivoted to live helicopter vision as the Bombardier Global 6000 opened its doors just after 9.15am.”
The story also noted how Ross Travis was mistaken for Kelce by those TV stations with one broadcaster believing it was Jason Kelce.
The Sydney Morning Herald had stories on Kelce’s arrival, trip to the zoo and his fashion choices. The headline on the latter: “Why Travis Kelce is Taylor Swift’s biggest fashion hit yet.”
“Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce has just landed in Australia and his impact on menswear is overtaking his reputation as an NFL champion or potential song inspiration on the upcoming ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album,” Damien Woolnough wrote.
“Last month, a report by e-tailer BooHoo Man found that Google searches for ‘Travis Kelce fashion’ had increased by 667 per cent in 12 months.
“The 196 centimetre tall tight end for the Super Bowl winning Kansas City Chiefs has grabbed fashion headlines since partnering with Swift, in relaxed bold suiting, textured two-pieces with stoner surfie details and an unabashed joy in dressing up.”
It’s a zoo
The media zoo soon followed Kelce and Swift to the Sydney Zoo. As with the arrival of the jet carrying Kelce, there were many photos and videos shot from a distance of the couple as they fed kangaroos and toured the zoo.
Swift’s fans loved the couple’s date. Multiple media outlets in Australia wrote about the outing. One headline: “Taylor spotted with her Lover at Sydney Zoo for second day.”
Kelce undoubtedly will be under the microscope the rest of the time he’s Down Under. Perhaps nothing makes that point better than this “photo.”
One last note: fans noted that the zoo trip came six years to the day that Kelce wrote on Twitter (now X) that he loved a good zoo.
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 9:32 AM.
