From a soccer standpoint, the sport on Sunday night time between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets isn’t must-see TV.
The Chiefs, liked by way of 8.5 issues, are the reigning Super Bowl champions and are led by way of the N.F.L.’s easiest participant. The Jets are flailing after their 39-year-old would-be savior tore his Achilles’ tendon mins into the season.
But hundreds of thousands of individuals are thrumming with anticipation anyway: America’s maximum breathlessly lined situationship — between Kansas City’s All-Pro tight finish, Travis Kelce, and pop song’s largest superstar, Taylor Swift — is coming to prime-time tv.
“The possibility of Taylor attending the game on Sunday night opens up a window to a new audience, definitely,” mentioned Rob Hyland, the coordinating manufacturer of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” “We’re aware we could be reaching new eyeballs.”
“The Taylor spotlight is the bigger of the two, which is sometimes hard for the football people to grasp, but they are two of the biggest media entertainment entities that exist,” mentioned Nora Princiotti, a soccer author for The Ringer who additionally co-hosts a popular music podcast that steadily makes a speciality of Swift and wrote an article with a glossary of key terms supposed to bridge any wisdom hole between the fan bases.
“It’ll be a hard task for anything to top this,” she mentioned about this yr’s largest popular culture moments.
Last week, Fox cameras incessantly panned to Swift’s response after Kelce touched the ball. Richie Zyontz, Fox’s lead N.F.L. manufacturer, told The Athletic there have been additional alternatives to turn Swift all the way through a 41-10 blowout.
“It was a terrible game, but it also kind of had a joyful feel throughout because the times we did show her, she was reacting,” he mentioned, insisting that the photographs of Swift had now not been gratuitous.
Fox additionally didn’t play any of Swift’s song. Zyontz wrote that her document label and publishing corporate had denied the community’s request to take action.
Things might be other on Sunday night time: NBC’s promo for the sport options a number of photographs of a triumphant Kelce set to the Swift music “Welcome to New York.” (Yes, the New York Jets play in New Jersey.)
Hyland mentioned on Friday that his staff had cleared “Welcome to New York” with Swift’s song representatives for the promotional marketing campaign and was hoping to take action for the published as neatly, in particular for a taped component proven proper prior to kickoff.
“If Travis were to score a touchdown, you might hear it one other time,” he mentioned, including, “This is not going to be a night where you hear a playlist of Taylor Swift songs.”
The community’s best precedence, Hyland mentioned, will be the on-field motion. He mentioned that it was once just a little performed out for announcers to use not-so-subtle references to Swift lyrics and song titles, and that he sought after his staff to search out much less obtrusive tactics to include the pop superstar.
“I always prioritize make-you-smile elements, and let’s just say there was a little extra emphasis this week on those elements,” he mentioned. “We’ve designed a few things specific to this story line.”
The Chiefs and a publicist for Swift didn’t reply to a request for remark.
But with Swift’s Eras Tour in brief on pause, her live performance film hitting theaters this month and Kelce’s dedication to a well-liked soccer podcast as his Hall of Fame-caliber occupation wanes, a supercharged dose of crossover exposure on nationwide tv is almost certainly a great addition, even for the already well-known.
“If 30 million people tune in to watch Zach Wilson and the Jets, that’s a fairly good illustration of her impact,” Princiotti mentioned of Swift.
Hyland mentioned that manufacturing assistants on his staff had come ahead with a number of concepts for the telecast, together with an array of TikTok videos by which girlfriends and better halves provide an explanation for to their exasperated male companions that Taylor Swift has helped elevate the profile of an in a different way unknown soccer participant.
“You could possibly see a mash-up of those,” Hyland mentioned, “if the game lets us go there.”