A recent NFL promo video for the 2024-5 season featured images of Taylor Swift five times over the space of 30 seconds. There were predictable complaints from old-guard male fans, followed by mainstream media cooing about what a powerful woman Taylor Swift is.
But perhaps the omnipresence of Taylor Swift is just smart marketing to NFL fandomâs ascendent majority. Anecdotally, I now know as many women as men who are avid NFL fans. When I see photos in my personal Facebook feed of folks heading to a game, all decked out in fan attire (that of the Cincinnati Bengals, in the case of my hometown), the odds are: Iâm viewing the post of one of my female friends.
And most of my female friends are Gen Xers, now in their 40s and 50s. According to a survey taken in February of this year, 64% of Gen Z and Millennial women now have a âfavorable viewâ of the NFL.
And you can largely thank Taylor Swift for that. Young womenâs interest in the NFL has spiked since Swift started dating that guy with the unhygienic beard. The guy whose name I cannot remember, who plays for that team in Kansas City.
Ever since Taylor Swift merged with the NFL, there has been a backlash, mostly from grumpy old white guys like yours truly. But this grumpy old white guy is not complaining.
I am old enough to remember when a passion for pro football was the mark of a real man. I always found pro football boring and pointless, about as much fun as watching my lawn grow. But when I was youngâon occasionâI felt pressured to pretend otherwise.
The NFLâs new branding as the sport of choice for Gen Z and Millennial women has changed things entirely. Ditto for the leagueâs new, deliberate alignment with Taylor Swift.
For decades now, I have suspected that the manly pretensions of pro football were a sham. Time, alas, has vindicated me.
-ET
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