On Sept. 24, the Miami Dolphins welcomed the 0-2 Denver Broncos into Hard Rock Stadium and scored 70 to the Broncos’ 20, even without their star receiver Jaylen Waddle. The next night, the Eagles and Buccaneers had a scorigami, or a final score that has never happened before, with a 25-11 Philadelphia victory. But, I guarantee you didn’t know this.  Most people only know something else that happened in NFL Week 3. Ready for it?

Taylor Swift went to a football game. And, everyone lost their minds.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, the latest boyfriend of Swift, gained 300,000 followers in a week’s time after the news broke that the two were dating. That follower gain is more than the week after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last February. His jersey sales also spiked up 433 percent in the same week span. 

Swift going to a game is genius marketing. By her being in the suites, the NFL gets more viewers, tickets and money, and in return, Swift used it to promote her Oct. 13 movie.

A much deeper problem here needs to be addressed, that being how media has become a popularity contest in print.

The perspective of a reader should first be considered when addressing the dilemma. Someone reading ESPN, the Tribune or even the Prowler would probably rather hear about the names or events they know, not what they have no idea about. Every single person on planet earth is guilty of this, whether they know it or not. Don’t believe me?

When Queen Elizabeth II passed away at 96 in 2022, the world stopped. Everybody had to get on their phones or check the papers to see what happened and where Britain would go from there. At that moment, nobody cared about any other story in the news; it didn’t seem as important when someone as prominent as The Queen’s passing. This is the same reason why tabloids and yellow journalism are still a thing. 

There also is a method used by public figures and outlets called “wagging the dog.” Essentially, to wag the dog is to directly or indirectly distract from something important with something less prominent. It also made for a great political satire flick in 1997 starring Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. A famous example is when President Bill Clinton wagged the dog by ordering missile strikes on Sudan and Afghanistan shortly after his affair with Monica Lewinsky made headlines.

While a musician and a football player is a much smaller instance than bombings and adultery, it goes to show how the expression can be used anywhere. After all, if a Swiftie sees their idol watching her boyfriend make the Bears’ secondary look silly, they’ll pay more attention to it compared to the Monday night game the next day. ESPN knew this tactic and used it to sign a big program to their company.

Pat McAfee, a former NFL player in his own right, started a show after his retirement that had fans raving. He, along with retired linebacker A.J. Hawk and the “Toxic Table,” became a media darling for the authenticity of the show, and it wouldn’t be long before a big-time corporation swooped in. ESPN laid off about 20 on-air employees for “cost savings” in July, using much of that purse to sign McAfee and his crew.

In late June, the public held its collective breath as the Titanic submersible disappeared on its dive to the bottom of the ocean. But, during the same week, almost 500 immigrants including children died when their boat sank near Greece.  People magazine’s July 10 cover screamed “Doomed Voyage” but that was in reference to what happened to a few rich extreme thrill seekers – not the poor asylum-seeking refugees.

So what does this all mean, and where does journalism as a whole go from here? As for solutions, there isn’t anything that can be used to improve the conflict. The name of the game for journalism is to draw eyes, and it’s a guarantee that an outlet that covers events in a small town will be much less popular than a widespread one keeping track of the lives of celebrities. The only option is to simply hope for the best.

Taylor Swift went to the next Chiefs game a week later, and the next one a week after. Once more, everyone lost their minds. When it was announced she would be in attendance at the Chiefs-Jets game, ticket sales doubled in two days. Swift was shown on NBC three more times than the Jets’ injured star Aaron Rodgers, SNL has mocked the relationship, and even Kelce has said the media has overdone its coverage of the two. 

Here we go again.