Kansas City Has Always Been in ‘Style’

It’s pronounced “pl-aaa-za,” not “pl-ah-zah.” Thursday nights in summer are best spent at Power and Light. The West Bottoms are for senior pictures, and the Briarcliffe fountains are for homecoming photos. It isn’t Christmas without seeing the Union Station tree. Almost everyone has an Instagram post with River Market flowers. The only thing better than burnt ends is our tight end — something most people now agree on. 

My college friends call Kansas City, Missouri “the Mid-South.” The media calls it the place Taylor Swift put on the map. I call it home. 

My hometown has been the subject of multiple news articles and social media trends for the past month. It all started when Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce attended Swift’s Eras Tour at Arrowhead Stadium July 8. On the podcast he shares with his brother, Kelce said he attempted to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it. Being one of the most famous women in the world, she denied it — at first.

Not long after, rumors started swarming that the two were dating. 

While the details of their romance have been kept under wraps and neither has released an official statement, Swift has been spotted at four Chiefs games since the rumors began. With her Chiefs merch, chats with Kelce’s mother and various public displays of affection, the media is convinced Swift and Kelce are an item.

As someone who has watched both Chiefs games and Swift concerts from the seats of Arrowhead stadium, my two favorite fandoms are colliding. 

I was born and raised in Kansas City, which means I was born and raised a Chiefs fan. I’ve frozen out in the cold during Super Bowl parades and fought the grueling summer heat during Chiefs training camps. I can confidently tell you the numbers of my favorite players and one of my biggest flexes is that I’ve high-fived “Honey Badger.” 

On the other hand — the one that strung friendship bracelets and selects my Spotify playlist every morning — I am a Swiftie. I know just about every lyric to every song. I’ve screamed at the top of my lungs at four of her concerts — and I think the happiest moments of my life were singing the bridge of “Cruel Summer” and seeing Taylor Lautner do a flip on stage at The Eras Tour. 

Swift is my favorite artist, my favorite celebrity and the subject of my favorite fanbase to be a part of. Now, she’s dating someone in my hometown. 

Aside from being excited that my odds of meeting, or at least seeing, Taylor Swift have increased drastically, I feel the strong need to gatekeep my hometown — in the least petty or dramatic way possible. 

Over the past month, I have seen countless TikToks and Instagram posts about the relationship. My For You page is loaded with Taylor Swift fans buying Travis Kelce jerseys, cheering for the Chiefs, telling the men in their lives that “Taylor put Kelce on the map,” implying they are knowledgeable about Kansas City, or want to visit and asking for restaurant recommendations. 

While I love that people are finally appreciating my hometown, I can’t help but feel defensive about being an original fan in the new wave of fake ones. 

Kansas City has won the Super Bowl twice in the past three years, has more fountains than any city in the world — except Rome — and is renowned for having some of the best barbecue in the country. With a variety of neighborhoods, a booming downtown and amazing food on every corner, it seems unfair to me that Kansas City is just now getting the recognition we deserve — it’s even more shocking that we’re getting it because of Swift. 

The Swift and Kelce romance seems like a plot-line of a fictional romantic comedy. How could it not when a world famous pop star falls in love with an NFL player in Missouri? 

While I love a good rom-com, I would also love for the price of Kelce jerseys and Chiefs sweatshirts to go back to normal. I would love for people to stop acting like Kansas City only came into existence Sept. 24 when Swift stepped foot into Arrowhead Stadium for her first Chiefs game. 

I’m not saying people who aren’t from Kansas City can’t like the Chiefs. In fact, the more fans the better. It just makes my blood boil a little when people are only proudly wearing Chiefs merch and talking about Kansas City because it’s the popular thing to do. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not Kansas City’s number one fan — I ran away to Chicago for a reason. But it is still my home, and it’s still a part of who I am. 

I know the back roads and coziest diners. I know where to find the cutest coffee shops and trendiest vintage pop-ups. I know Danny’s makes the best burgers in town, and I know Messenger Coffee is a little overrated. I know my hometown more than I know anything. 

There’s more to Kansas City than Swift eating “seemingly ranch” at a football game. For myself, and approximately half a million others, it’s home. 

Feature image by Austin Hojdar / The Phoenix