Mark Davis: Taylor & Travis conspiracies, jealousy show why we can’t have nice things | Opinion

As the Super Bowl draws near, in a game to be played in Las Vegas itself, the city’s oddsmakers are preparing a mountain of potential side bets, from statistics for individual players to which team wins the coin toss. A tempting wager would be an over/under on how many times we get to see an adoring Taylor Swift celebrating the efforts of her Kansas City Chiefs tight end boyfriend Travis Kelce.

No such bet will be offered. Unlike on-field events, a control room producer could corrupt the outcome. But if you’re playing at home, guess high.

America’s most famous musical talent has been a recurring image in this season’s broadcasts of the nation’s dominant sport. The NFL has obviously benefited from the attraction of new eyeballs to playoff games. Swift’s fans seem delighted to welcome Kelce, swooning over viral clips of their affectionate moments, whether at his games or her concerts. Dads can be found experiencing a joy many did not see coming — watching football with eager daughters.

So, what’s the problem? Because now that his place on the field and her seat in a luxury box are assured, a mouthy chorus that had grown vocally weary has now become outwardly hostile. As world trouble spots explode and the American republic hangs by a thread, there are people actually directing some of their anger budget toward the imagery of a courtship featuring two of the nation’s most famous people.

In fairness to the folks seething with such umbrage, I have tried to identify the elements that fuel their sharp distaste.

Do the occasional cutaway shots of her celebrations somehow foul the standards of an NFL TV broadcast? That’s hard to argue when we are often treated to reaction shots of parents and other loved ones rooting for players with appealing narratives.

Is there an abiding sense that we are being force-fed a contrived relationship? It takes a deep cynicism laced with considerable boastfulness to presume the ability to magically discern whose love is real and whose is not. Add in a lot of suddenly free time, and you get Vivek Ramaswamy, fresh off the campaign trail mixing his presumptuousness with a stout dollop of online conspiracy nuttery: “I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl,” he begins, suggesting a possible “major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped up couple.”

This is why we can’t have nice things. And by any objective measure, a talented young couple whose work brings joy to millions is the last thing that should trigger a wave of such clumsily crafted contempt.

Is this just the 2024 incarnation of garden-variety political blather? She is an odd target for such venom. While “Only the Young” (2020) is a nod toward gun control, and one verse of “You Need to Calm Down” (2019) softly scolds opponents of the LGBTQ agenda, her albums and concerts are famously apolitical. Swift took to Instagram in 2018 to telegraph a vote against Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn, based on support for gay rights and a boilerplate aversion to perceived “systemic racism,” but that moment attracted some attention precisely because it was so rare.

As for Kelce, his mortal sin appears to be his TV ad for Pfizer sharing the benefits of getting our COVID and flu shots at the same time. Particularly driven researchers have unearthed further ammo, including a game in which he knelt with Chiefs teammates at a time when vast swaths of sidelines featured that same gesture. They also point to a Bud Light ad released weeks after the brand’s disastrous partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney, when Kelce may have cashed that check with no knowledge of other Bud Light promotions.

It has to be exhausting living life in a constant search for outrage. In this case, what an empty exercise it is to swim in a poisonous soup of envy and joyless indignation. Taylor Swift’s musical talent seems matched by her business sense. She makes millions by bringing joy to millions. Travis Kelce is the toast of a city that is probably the NFL’s new dynasty. He is also the apple of his mother’s eye and the target of hilarious barbs in a regular podcast with his NFL veteran brother.

A cascade of negativity toward these two achieves nothing except a sad occasion to ask what dark modern instinct sparks it.

This story was originally published January 31, 2024 at 5:35 AM.