Taylor Swift just guaranteed a huge day for Travis Kelce in fantasy football

It's already been a big few days for the Swift-Kelce household. Unless you've been literally living under a rock, you're no doubt aware that Taylor released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, this past Friday. While the debate continues to rage about exactly where this record should be ranked in her discography — personally, I found it sonically refreshing while lyrically ... underwhelming — what's beyond dispute is that Showgirl is already immensely popular, selling some 2.7 million copies (physical albums and digital downloads) on just its first day. That makes it already the best-selling record of the year, as well as Swift's biggest opening week ever.

All of which sets a pretty high bar for her fiance, Travis Kelce, as the Kansas City Chiefs tight end looks to lead his team to a win on Monday Night Football against the Jacksonville Jaguars. So far it's been a relatively disappointing season for the future Hall of Famer, who's recorded just 182 receiving yards over his team's first four games as Kansas City has stumbled to a 2-2 start. Given the fact that he just turned 36 last week, and that he was openly contemplating retirement as recently as this offseason, it's fair to wonder whether the dynamic seam-stretcher of years past is gone for good.

But Chiefs fans should take heart. As it turns out, we might be in for a vintage Kelce performance on Monday night — and we have Swift herself to thank.

Taylor Swift's album release might be just the motivation Travis Kelce needs

Swift brings with her a unique cosmology; everything has purpose, and nothing is a coincidence. So of course someone chose to celebrate the release of Showgirl by going back and looking at how Kelce has performed in the game following each of her last four album releases. (Well, the albums that have come out in the fall anyway; apologies to the Folklore heads among us.) And as luck would have it, Kelce has a knack for delivering big numbers in celebration of new music from Swift:

Dating back to 1989, Kelce is averaging seven catches for 77.5 yards over those four games, with three touchdowns to boot. The high-water mark came with the release of Evermore in 2020, when he went off for 139 yards on eight receptions and a touchdown in a 33-27 win over the Miami Dolphins. (Here is your reminder that we really don't appreciate just how unreal those Tyreek Hill-era offenses were enough.)

Even better for Kansas City: Three of those performances came in Chiefs wins, with the lone exception a 12-9 loss to the 2-8 New York Giants that followed the release of Reputation back in 2017. But hey: Patrick Mahomes wasn't even the quarterback then, so we're willing to give him a pass. If Kelce turns back the clock in Jacksonville on Monday night, don't say you weren't warned.