The Swift Kick-Off in the gridiron of fame, where the blitz of celebrity can outshine even the most stellar plays, Patrick Mahomes’ Time Magazine cover sparked a fan frenzy.

But it wasn’t just Mahomes’ MVP-worthy smile or comments that had fans talking; it was the sideline spectacle of Taylor Swift that sent the buzz into overtime.

A fan’s tweet threw the challenge flag, claiming Swift’s box seat presence at a Chiefs game outdid Mahomes’ cover story. “Time Magazine cover. Taylor Swift, I hate to say it, generated more revenue buzz for the Chiefs by sitting her a** down in the box seats,” the tweet read, setting the stage for Mahomes’ response.

Mahomes, with a playbook of humility and humor, tackled the tweet head-on. “That is true, but she was like the Time Person of the Year a couple months before that, so it’s really cool to be on the cover of Time,” he quipped, passing the credit to Swift’s prior accolades.

Capping off the interview, Mahomes threw a touchdown pass of gratitude to his teammate’s significant other. “It does help when, uh, whenever your best friend and your homie’s dating the most famous woman in the world,” he said, acknowledging the extra fame for the event gained from Travis Kelce’s girlfriend’s superstar aura.

The unlikely ally of Patrick Mahome’s Kansas Chiefs Superbowl run

In the recent interview with TIME, Mahomes acknowledged the “Taylor Swift Effect,” admitting that her fanbase propelled the Chiefs to new heights of global recognition. “We went from a nationwide team that was kind of global to a full global worldwide team. That came from Taylor’s fanbase,” Mahomes said.

The Chiefs’ journey was far from smooth sailing. Mahomes endured a frustrating regular 2023 season, marred by dropped passes, sideline outbursts, and mounting doubts about the once-unstoppable offense. The Christmas Day loss to the Las Vegas Raiders marked a low point, leaving Mahomes determined to turn things around. “That game kind of turned my mind. Where I was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to turn it around. Right now,’” he recalled.

Despite the adversity, Mahomes and the Chiefs rallied, embarking on an extraordinary six-game winning streak that culminated in their second consecutive Super Bowl triumph. In the midst of this remarkable turnaround, Swift’s presence became a unifying force, captivating millions of viewers and igniting a fervor around the team.