Jason Kelce melted hearts all over America when at the Chiefs-Bills playoffs game Sunday (Jan. 21), he ran into the stands, scooped up a young Swiftie and held her up to his box suite so that Taylor Swift — who was in attendance at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce — could see the young girl’s “I <3 T.Swift” sign. The moment was captured in viral videos from the night, which ended with Kansas City defeating Buffalo 27-24 and advancing on to the championship game.
And now, that lucky Swiftie is opening up about her experience. “I’ve been a fan since I was about five,” 8 year-old Ella Piazza, who was at the game rooting for the Buffalo Bills, told WHEC of Swift Monday (Jan. 22). “I like her personality and how she sings, and when I heard that she was going to the Bills game I thought, ‘Yeah!’ Buffalo Bills plus Taylor Swift equals best first game ever!’”
“We walked over [to the box] and then the two guys in front of us were yelling to Jason, like … ‘Give her a chance,’” Piazza recalled.
That he did. In one video of the sweet interaction, a shirtless Jason tells Piazza, “We’re going to show this to Taylor” before carefully picking her up and carrying her over to see Swift and the rest of the Kelce family. In another clip, Piazza excitedly waves at the 12-time Grammy winner before Jason, who plays center for the Philadelphia Eagles, gently carries her back to her place in the stands.
And even though the game didn’t turn out in her home team’s favor, it’s safe to say the Rochester native’s night was made by the interaction. “Taylor smiled, she was so happy and she did like this with her hand,” she added, miming the “Anti-Hero” singer’s excited wave. “[I felt] like oh my goodness, I feel like shocked and happy at the same time.”
Much like Jason, Swift inspired numerous viral moments of her own at Sunday’s showdown. Travis, the Kansas City tight end whom she’s been dating since summer, was responsible for two of the Chiefs’ touchdowns against the Bills — after both of which NFL cameras panned to the pop star.
After the first of No. 87’s two big catches, Swift ecstatically celebrated with high-fives and hugs amidst the fellow VIPs in her box, one of whom was her longtime friend Cara Delevingne. After the second, she and Brittany Mahomes — who is married to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes — hugged each other while jumping up and down.
