Travis Kelce reveals how his ‘worst’ Christmas took a happy turn

Travis Kelce has shared how his “worst” Christmas took a happy turn, after the Kansas City Chiefs lost their game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The 34-year-old football tight end spoke candidly about his holiday celebrations during an episode of his and his brother Jason Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, which aired on 29 December. During the conversation, Jason’s wife Kylie Kelce asked her brother-in-law how his Christmas Day was after the Raiders defeated the Chiefs with a score of 20-14.

When answering Kylie’s question about his Christmas Day, Kelce responded: “F***ing worst. I’m not going to lie. I’ve had better.”

While he didn’t have the best day on Christmas, he acknowledged that he did have a fun Christmas evening with his loved ones, which turned his mood around. “But it ended well. It ended well with good Christmas cheer and great people,” he said. “That’s always gonna save Christmas no matter if you lose to the Raiders or not.”

Although he didn’t specify who he celebrated the holiday with, Kelce’s comments come amid reports that his girlfriend Taylor Swift, her parents Andrea and Scott, and the NFL star’s father, Ed Kelce, spent the day together. According to the Daily Mail, Swift and her family made their way to Kelce’s house after the Chiefs game on 25 December. Meanwhile, Kelce’s mother Donna was spending Christmas in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to be with her eldest son and his children.

During the Christmas Day game, Swift was seen cheering on her boyfriend at Arrowhead Stadium. The occasion was a family affair for the singer, who was joined by her parents. Swift’s parents were not only spotted walking into the stadium with her before kickoff, but they were also seen sitting in the Kelce family suite. Her 31-year-old brother, Austin, also made an appearance dressed as Santa Claus.

Following the game, Swifties were quick to rush to the “Anti-Hero” singer’s defense after a sports columnist suggested she was to blame for her boyfriend’s loss on the football field. At the time, sports columnist and commentator Skip Bayless took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to blame the singer as a reason for the loss and called her a “distraction.”

After Bayless’ post went viral, fans responded in outrage over how someone who wasn’t a player or a coach could be blamed for the team’s loss. “Last time I checked Taylor Swift wasn’t playing for the Chiefs,” one tweet began. “That’s like calling out and blaming the Chiefs poor performance on Britney Mahomes [Patrick Mahomes’ wife] and his little brother Jackson. It’s an absolutely ridiculous and pathetic excuse.”

Another agreed: “I didn’t know Taylor Swift plays wide receiver for the Chiefs.”

This isn’t the first time that Swift’s appearance at her boyfriend’s games has received criticism. On 17 December, she was booed by NFL fans when shown on the jumbotron screen at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, during the Chiefs game against the New England Patriots.

However, when the boos erupted from the Patriots fans in the crowd, she appeared to brush off the negative reaction by resting her chin on her hand. She then sarcastically gave the criticism an air kiss before she turned to friend Brittany Mahomes - who was sitting next to her - and shrugged. Days later, Kelce didn’t hesitate to defend his girlfriend from the amount of boos she received at the stadium.

“I’ll say this - they showed Taylor at the game,” the NFL champion said during an episode of News Heights, which aired on 20 December. “And I mean, you don’t see an entire home team fan base go insane for somebody wearing the opposite team’s colours. Just shows you how amazing that girl is. They went absolutely insane when they showed Taylor on the screen, yes.”