Mike Tirico has Taylor Swift ‘tour’ jokes for primetime appearance

Perhaps Taylor Swift likes being seen in primetime.

NBC play-by-player Mike Tirico mentioned during the “Sunday Night Football” broadcast of the Chiefs’ loss to the Packers that Swift, who is dating Kansas City’s Travis Kelce, has attended two Chiefs road games of the five she’s watched in person, and both of them were Sunday night contests.

“We’re lucky, we’ve had her twice now,” analyst Cris Collinsworth said as the broadcast showed Swift sitting with Brittany Mahomes.

“And let’s point out: she’s been to five Chiefs games, three at home, and the only two road games, Sunday night. So she’s on tour with us,” Tirico replied.

Sunday marked the first time Swift attended one of Kelce’s Chiefs games since Oct. 22 and it was the first time the Chiefs lost with Swift in the building.

Swift, 33, first went to a Chiefs game on Sept. 24 against the Bears in Kansas City, which first sparked rumors that she and Kelce were an item.

She traveled to MetLife Stadium for a “Sunday Night Football” game against the Jets the following week.

“Remember where it was. She was not a part of the story. She showed up as a surprise at the game the week before. And now she’s in New York with a whole celebrity, a whole ‘Access Hollywood’ box of celebrities there, and they all showed up for a game,” Tirico said on the ‘SI Media podcast.’

“So, remember this. One, it’s entertainment. Two, it’s primetime. Three, it didn’t take away from one replay of anything about the game. And, here’s the philosophy I approached it with: We have 20 million loyal viewers every week for ‘Sunday Night Football.’ It’s a lot. It’s the most in primetime TV. Don’t piss them off. Don’t take away from those folks.

“However, you have, and the ratings proved it, you have a few million people who don’t regularly watch your show on a regular basis who are coming in. So, if you have a group of eight that go to dinner and a couple people come to join you, make them feel welcome. So, we showed probably the most famous person in America a few times during the show. Didn’t take away from any replay, any X-O comment, anything about any of the players in the game. So, that’s the bottom line of it.”

After skipping the Chiefs’ road win over the Vikings, Swift attended the Chiefs’ home wins over the Broncos (Oct. 12) and Chargers (Oct. 22.)

Swift missed some games because she resumed her Eras Tour in South America last month, with stops in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Kelce jetted down to Buenos Aires to attend Swift’s show on Nov. 11, and video showed Swift running off the stage to kiss Kelce.

Swift, who has been spending some time with Kelce in Kansas City since returning from Brazil, doesn’t have any shows scheduled until Feb. 7, when she begins a four-night run at the Tokyo Dome.

With no show on Feb. 11, when Super Bowl 2024 takes place in Las Vegas, it’s possible Swift could attend if the Chiefs (8-4) make it.

The Chiefs currently don’t have any primetime games left on their schedule after their Week 15 game against the Patriots was flexed out of “Monday Night Football” and moved to Sunday, Dec. 17.