Al Michaels struggled to describe Taylor Swift.Photo:Leon Bennett/Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/GettyAl Michaelsdoesn’t know what to callTaylor Swift!The NFL broadcaster, 78, discussed the viral moment he struggled to describe the singer during an interview onJimmy Kimmel Live!“Looking on is [Kelce’s]… well at the moment… his good buddy and girlfriend, Taylor Swift,” Michaels said during the clip, pausing several times.HostJimmy Kimmelplayed audio of the incident fromThursday night’s Chiefs game, which the 33-year-old singer attendedamid her romance with Chiefs tight endTravis Kelce, 34.“So, is she his good buddy or his girlfriend?,” Kimmel teased Michaels. “Now you can’t be both.”“You know you’re doing a game like that, I know the internet’s going to blow up. You know what I really wanted to say?” Michaels shared. “Fiancée.”He added, “I didn’t because I figured Travis would beat me up at the end of the game.“Michaels also said that theNFLhad to be “judicious” about showing Swift after recentfan backlash thatthey were spotlighting her too much during the games she has attended since being linked to Kelce.“We knew she’d be there, so how much do you show her? I mean she’d been on twice and football fans are going, ‘Enough.’ But we were praying she’d come into the booth and sing for us and do the whole thing,” Michaels admitted to the chat show host.Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have dinner at Waverly Inn on October 15, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images“It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” he continued. You know, I’m not doingAccess Hollywood.”Ahead of Thursday’s game, Michaels toldSports Illustratedthat they were planning their celebrity coverage in “moderation” after Swift’s previous two appearances.“The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game. There are people, I don’t know how many, it could be a sizable number, but it’s certainly not a majority, that if you trained the camera on [Swift] all night long, they’d be satisfied with that. This is not what we’re doing to do.“The issue was also discussed duringKelce’s podcastearlier this month, where the player admitted, “[The NFL is]overdoing it a little bitfor sure. [But] I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The NFLaddressed the situationin a statement to PEOPLE at the beginning of October, saying, “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.“Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift depart the SNL Afterparty on October 15, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images"The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more,” the statement concluded.
Al Michaels struggled to describe Taylor Swift.Photo:Leon Bennett/Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Leon Bennett/Getty; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
Al Michaelsdoesn’t know what to callTaylor Swift!The NFL broadcaster, 78, discussed the viral moment he struggled to describe the singer during an interview onJimmy Kimmel Live!“Looking on is [Kelce’s]… well at the moment… his good buddy and girlfriend, Taylor Swift,” Michaels said during the clip, pausing several times.HostJimmy Kimmelplayed audio of the incident fromThursday night’s Chiefs game, which the 33-year-old singer attendedamid her romance with Chiefs tight endTravis Kelce, 34.“So, is she his good buddy or his girlfriend?,” Kimmel teased Michaels. “Now you can’t be both.”“You know you’re doing a game like that, I know the internet’s going to blow up. You know what I really wanted to say?” Michaels shared. “Fiancée.”He added, “I didn’t because I figured Travis would beat me up at the end of the game.“Michaels also said that theNFLhad to be “judicious” about showing Swift after recentfan backlash thatthey were spotlighting her too much during the games she has attended since being linked to Kelce.“We knew she’d be there, so how much do you show her? I mean she’d been on twice and football fans are going, ‘Enough.’ But we were praying she’d come into the booth and sing for us and do the whole thing,” Michaels admitted to the chat show host.Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have dinner at Waverly Inn on October 15, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images“It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” he continued. You know, I’m not doingAccess Hollywood.”Ahead of Thursday’s game, Michaels toldSports Illustratedthat they were planning their celebrity coverage in “moderation” after Swift’s previous two appearances.“The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game. There are people, I don’t know how many, it could be a sizable number, but it’s certainly not a majority, that if you trained the camera on [Swift] all night long, they’d be satisfied with that. This is not what we’re doing to do.“The issue was also discussed duringKelce’s podcastearlier this month, where the player admitted, “[The NFL is]overdoing it a little bitfor sure. [But] I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The NFLaddressed the situationin a statement to PEOPLE at the beginning of October, saying, “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.“Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift depart the SNL Afterparty on October 15, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images"The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more,” the statement concluded.
Al Michaelsdoesn’t know what to callTaylor Swift!
The NFL broadcaster, 78, discussed the viral moment he struggled to describe the singer during an interview onJimmy Kimmel Live!
“Looking on is [Kelce’s]… well at the moment… his good buddy and girlfriend, Taylor Swift,” Michaels said during the clip, pausing several times.
HostJimmy Kimmelplayed audio of the incident fromThursday night’s Chiefs game, which the 33-year-old singer attendedamid her romance with Chiefs tight endTravis Kelce, 34.
“So, is she his good buddy or his girlfriend?,” Kimmel teased Michaels. “Now you can’t be both.”
“You know you’re doing a game like that, I know the internet’s going to blow up. You know what I really wanted to say?” Michaels shared. “Fiancée.”
He added, “I didn’t because I figured Travis would beat me up at the end of the game.”
Michaels also said that theNFLhad to be “judicious” about showing Swift after recentfan backlash thatthey were spotlighting her too much during the games she has attended since being linked to Kelce.
“We knew she’d be there, so how much do you show her? I mean she’d been on twice and football fans are going, ‘Enough.’ But we were praying she’d come into the booth and sing for us and do the whole thing,” Michaels admitted to the chat show host.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have dinner at Waverly Inn on October 15, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images
Gotham/GC Images
“It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” he continued. You know, I’m not doingAccess Hollywood.”
Ahead of Thursday’s game, Michaels toldSports Illustratedthat they were planning their celebrity coverage in “moderation” after Swift’s previous two appearances.
“The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game. There are people, I don’t know how many, it could be a sizable number, but it’s certainly not a majority, that if you trained the camera on [Swift] all night long, they’d be satisfied with that. This is not what we’re doing to do.”
The issue was also discussed duringKelce’s podcastearlier this month, where the player admitted, “[The NFL is]overdoing it a little bitfor sure. [But] I think they’re just trying to have fun with it.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The NFLaddressed the situationin a statement to PEOPLE at the beginning of October, saying, “The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.”
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift depart the SNL Afterparty on October 15, 2023 in New York City.Gotham/GC Images
“The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more,” the statement concluded.
source: people.com
