ESPN Dragged For Turning Taylor Swift Into A Ravens Hater
Is ESPN a place for sports fans? Or has the network devolved into a continual celebrity gossip and trending news highlight reel?
ESPN is all in on the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce romance, to the point of giving up all dignity to get a Tay post off.
Taylor Swift Post Confuses ESPN Followers, Network Sells Out Again
One post edited by ESPN featuring the pop star had fans questioning the account's intentions of turning Tay into a Ravens hater.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs (L) celebrates with Taylor Swift after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
After the Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to the Super Bowl, ESPN shared an edited video showing Taylor Swift in concert footage.
Swift's shirt was edited to read, "Who's The Ravens Anyway? Ew," which makes more sense to the average nine-year-old girl than the casual NFL fan.
It was grammatically awful social media blabber that if stacked next to the writing at Deadspin could pale in comparison. ESPN had to ESPN, and The Mothership got torched for their deceptive Swift video.
The comments section was a bloodbath. "This is why we wanted the Ravens to win but because of Lamar we have to continuously come across this nonsense," a follower remarked.
"Sportscenter is the new TMZ," one follower commented.
"Where is Kanye when you need him lol," another added.
"What happened to sportscenter bro," a follower lamented.
Selling out isn't quite working out for ESPN.
ESPN, A Fall From Grace
As true football fans professed: the Taylor Swift schtick in the NFL is getting kind of old.
Frequently, the action on the field takes a backseat to the biggest pop star in the world, who's dating the game's top tight end in Travis Kelce.
On Sunday, NFL fans came together to root for Baltimore this weekend, hoping to put an end to the buzz around the power couple.
Instead, Lamar Jackson and rookie wideout Zay Flowers led a choke job, burying the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, 17-10.
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JANUARY 28: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs celebrates with Taylor Swift after a 17-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at M&T Bank Stadium on January 28, 2024 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Two weeks of Taylor Mania leading up to the Super Bowl should more than fill the demand for content focused on the pop star and Chiefs player.
Taylor's Eras Concert flight logs have already been meticulously studied to ensure Swift makes it to the Super Bowl on Feb. 11. Swift plays in Tokyo the day before the concert — the clock will be ticking till kickoff.
With every move between the now and Super Bowl now under a microscope for Traylor, content rages on — setting ESPN up with more opportunities to put out bumbling material on social media.
The NFL's "sell-out" Taylor Swift promotion reportedly generated $300 million in added revenue this season.
It's one thing to cover the budding romance — putting out unfunny, edited footage of Taylor Swift teeters on creepy.