ESPN's Mina Kimes floats dynamics behind Taylor Swift rage from NFL fans
It's Super Bowl week and of course Taylor Swift has been the topic of conversation already. ESPN's Mina Kimes has had to deal with sports fans being critical of her. Being a female sports analyst on a major network has led to Kimes having to defend herself on more than one occasion.
However, she doesn't believe that the recent uptick in hate for Swift attending Kansas City Chiefs games is necessarily because she's a woman. Kimes recently appeared on Dan Le Batard's “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast and the radio host asked her why she feels that so many NFL fans are in an uproar about the Grammy winner.
Mina Kimes said:
“You have pretty different dynamics at play. For me, a lot of the misogyny or resistance I’ve encountered over the years has been men feeling suspicious of, ‘Why is she here? What credibility does she have? I must know more,’ etc.
"I think with the Taylor Swift backlash — and it’s not universal, and maybe it’s even being overstated — but the impression I get is that people are annoyed with the idea of other fans being allowed into their space."
Mina Kimes continued:
"I don’t think most men who watch football games are really upset by the fact that they’re showing Taylor Swift for two seconds. I think they’re upset with the idea of what it signifies — ‘Oh, other people are now being allowed in here?’ — or the product is being deluded in some ways. I think that’s kind of a different phenomenon.”
While many are outraged over Taylor Swift simply attending games to support Travis Kelce, Kimes believes it's due to skepticism that the NFL will change if others become a part of it. However, plenty of A-list celebrities have attended games and dated NFL players and the league hasn't changed because of it.
Travis Kelce names his favorite Taylor Swift song
The Super Bowl LVIII week officially kicked off on Monday and the first big event was the Opening Night press availability. Players from both the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers were asked questions from reporters representing cities around the world.
At one point, Travis Kelce was asked what his favorite song by Taylor Swift,. He has answered this question before but this time gave a new answer:
“Right now, I’d probably say ‘Anti-Hero’ just ’cause I hear it every single day.”
"Anti-Hero" is one of the hit songs off of the Grammy winning album "Midnights." In the past, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end said that "Blank Space" off the "1989" album was his favorite.