The Two-Minute Drill: Taylor and Toy Story — The NFL’s expansion is a good thing

(Photo Courtesy of Elsa/Getty Images)

By Brendan Nordstrom

It was just over a decade ago when my life completely revolved around baseball and basketball. I only played both. I only watched both. I only understood both.

However, one fall Sunday in 2011, I decided to sit on the brown leather couch in my living room with my father, who sat in the brown leather chair beside it.

“What’s the difference between a quarterback and a cornerback?”

“Why do they keep running right into people? Can’t they go around?”

“Is this Calvin Johnson guy always this good?”

I did not shut up. I was relentless. I was determined to learn the game of football. And God bless my father who put up with it all throughout the Lions’ 10-6 season. He explained the different roles between offense and defense; the job of offensive linemen; and that, yes, Calvin Johnson was always that good. By the end of the season, I had finally stopped yapping and had fallen in love with football for good.

Think back to that moment — the moment you fell in love with football. Maybe it’s watching Tom Brady lift his third Super Bowl in four years. Maybe it’s Todd Gurley slicing up defenses, Richard Sherman and the Legion of Boom or, like me, Calvin Johnson catching touchdowns in triple coverage.

Football’s popularity in America is unmatched. Eight of the top 10 most watched television broadcasts of all time in the United States are Super Bowls. In fact, 82 of the top 100 broadcasted events last year were NFL games. If you really want to put things into perspective, this year’s preseason Hall of Fame game recorded 6.3 million viewers — the NBA playoffs averaged 5.4 million viewers.

The MLB fails to appeal to younger generations and has been chastised for its inability to market its stars. Similarly, the NHL is more niche with a failure to market stars — something the league may be over-compensating for with rookie Connor Bedard. The NBA, on the contrary, is known as a star-focused league, but its popularity is declining due to a lack of parity.

The NFL is the perfect melting pot of tribalism, stars and appealing to audiences old and young. In fact, its popularity is still increasing. The second-most watched broadcast of all time in America — Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12, 2023.

There is simply nothing like NFL football in America. However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that football is a complicated game to learn if you’ve lacked exposure. And unless you have a legitimate reason to try and learn the game, you won’t.

The reason the NFL remains king is because they are constantly casting a wider net. This past week, the NFL has begun to appeal to two new demographics — children and Taylor Swift fans.

The NFL’s marketing toward children is one of its best ideas. While it has been happening for years with the NFL’s collaboration with flag football leagues across the country, the league ramped up marketing with its first-ever NFL on Nickelodeon broadcast in 2021.

The annual Nickelodeon broadcast is truly unique. The broadcaster explains the rules of the game with help from famous characters, such as Spongebob or Young Sheldon. With an explanation for what an interception, pass interference penalty or too many men on the field is, the game helped introduce kids to the rules of the game.

So, Disney decided to get in on the opportunity. The broadcast took place in Andy’s room from Toy Story with a claw spotting the ball, slinky dog as the chains and other toys lining the field. What made it unique, however, was the chips put into players’ pads so that they could be animated in real-time.

From the perspective of an older audience, watching Patrick Star announce a Russell Wilson interception, voting for the losing quarterback to win Nickelodeon Valuable Player (NVP) or watching Bijan Robinson juke out defenders in animated form is great entertainment. But it shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the game will impact at least one kid who may not have an NFL fan in their life to pester with questions and may make a fan for life.

Then, the NFL was given a golden goose. Taylor Swift — the most popular artist in the world right now — fell right into their lap. Since Swift’s announced relationship with Travis Kelce, the NFL capitalized. While there is overlap between football fans and Swifties, the large majority were introduced to the gridiron last week when the Chiefs took on the Bears with Taylor in attendance.

Since then, Travis Kelce’s jersey sales shot up 400% while his Instagram experienced a six-figure follower increase. When it was announced that Swift would be in attendance once again for the Chiefs’ game against the Jets on Sunday night, ticket sales and viewership skyrocketed. Most importantly out of this game, according to ESPN, the broadcast also led in female audience in every major demographic.

When Swift and Kelce break up (or if they do), maybe a majority of Taylor Swift fans never look at an NFL game again. But then again, out there somewhere, was a Taylor Swift fan who sat down for an NFL game for the first time and now loves the sport.

Sure, the cameras constantly cutting over to see Taylor Swift’s reaction, or the NFL changing their Twitter header to Taylor Swift or changing their bio to mention Taylor Swift, can be annoying. It’s becoming a bit much and can’t continue much longer. But for now, why gatekeep football?

So, as Taylor Swift fan Twitter accounts explain what a first down is or animated Trevor Lawrence scrambles for a first down in Andy’s Room, I commend the NFL for getting more fans for the game millions love.