(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) The Kansas City Chiefs faced accusations of rigging the NFL playoffs Sunday night after the team of pop star Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce, secured their spot in Super Bowl LIX.
The Philadelphia Eagles soared their way to the Super Bowl Sunday afternoon with a score of 55-23 against the Washington Commanders, previously known as the Redskins.
The Chiefs’s narrow 32-29 victory against the Buffalo Bills was more questionable as sports fans and political commentators raised an eyebrow at constant interference from referees, which they suggested was part of a bigger scheme.
“Chiefs are like Democrats. All they do is rig results,” X influencer @BehizyTweets wrote, bemoaning “another year of Taylor Swift’s goons thinking they know ball.”
Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy said he was “quitting watching football” after the playoff game, in which he claimed referees let the Chiefs win through “blatant cheating.”
Chiefs are like Democrats. All they do is rig results.
They could be losing, and a referee will find some extra mail-in points to add to their tally to give them the win. It's sick.
Now, we have to suffer another year of Taylor Swift's goons thinking they know ball. PAINFUL!
— George (@BehizyTweets) January 27, 2025
I’m quitting watching football. There is no other way to teach @nflcommish a lesson. This is blatant cheating. #nflrigged pic.twitter.com/fGzya6LOQX
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 27, 2025
Other football fans piled on by saying the referees made their Chiefs favoritism “so obvious.” X influencer Matt Wallace called the NFL “unwatchable” for making “5 incorrect calls” in favor of the Chiefs, while making zero that helped the Bills.
Outkick personality Charly Arnolt characterized Super Bowl LIX as the “Eagles versus the NFL” in a Monday appearance on Fox News.
“I don’t think any make-up calls are going to be happening. I think that the same direction the refs have been taking this entire season, ‘I’m in favor of Taylor Swift’s boyfriend’s team,’ are probably going to be the same calls they make during the Super Bowl,” Arnolt told Fox and Friends First co-hosts, who laughed.
“EAGLES vs. NFL?”
Kansas City Chiefs face cheating accusations ahead of Super Bowl LIX. pic.twitter.com/hIhr6rMCCp
— Julianna Frieman (@JuliannaFrieman) January 27, 2025
Super Bowl LIX will be the Chiefs’s third consecutive Super Bowl and the second featuring Swift as a sideshow.
In 2023, the Chiefs beat the Eagles 38-35 in what was branded the sibling rivalry Super Bowl, as the Chiefs’s Travis Kelce faced off against the Eagles’s Jason Kelce.
Travis Kelce’s profile was elevated further in 2024 when Swift, a Pennsylvania native, watched her new NFL boyfriend from the bleachers as the Chiefs won 25-22 against the San Francisco 49ers.
I'm not mad about the NFL because at the end of the day, the entire country and culture is going to hate both the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift.
That's worth any 3 hours on a Sunday.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) January 27, 2025
I see people posting how the refs are screwing over Buffalo to give the Chiefs the win. I don’t watch NFL but knew the Chiefs would win. The NFL is all about promoting Taylor Swift and her boy toy because he promotes the Poison vax. Stop watching and supporting that BS.
— American Islandman (@N76247476Man) January 27, 2025
I’m predicting one of the lowest rated Super Bowls of the last decade. Also, people are sick and tired of seeing Taylor Swift and getting the updates about her outfits and every move. It’s played out.
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) January 27, 2025
“I don’t watch NFL but knew the Chiefs would win. The NFL is about promoting Taylor Swift and her boy toy because he promotes the poison vax,” one X user wrote, evoking Kelce’s ties to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
Stephen L. Miller, editor of the The Spectator, said he was “not mad” about the Chiefs being in the Super Bowl because “the entire country and culture is going to hate both the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift.” He added, “That’s worth any 3 hours on a Sunday.”
Outkick host Clay Travis questioned whether interested in another Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl would wane come Feb. 9. His colleague, Outkick host Tomi Lahren, predicted that the game would be “one of the lowest rated Super Bowls of the last decade.”
The NFL celebrated the Chiefs’s playoff win by sharing a video of Swift and Kelce smiling and waving at the crowd.
What a moment for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ixC0gAiFh6
— NFL (@NFL) January 27, 2025
“What a moment for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift,” the NFL wrote with a heart emoji Sunday night.
Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.
