Travis Kelce brought home the hardware he promised to girlfriend Taylor Swift.
The Kansas City tight end finished with nine receptions for 93 yards, including a crucial catch in overtime, to help the Chiefs win their second straight Super Bowl with a 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
One play after Kelce’s reception put the Chiefs on the 3-yard line, Patrick Mahomes found Mecole Hardman alone in the end zone for the winning TD, in the process helping Kelce keep his promise while sending Swift and everyone in her suite into a celebratory frenzy.
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Kelce soon revealed just what he told Swift one night last week after she earned her fourth career Grammy award for album of the year.
He said he’d “have to hold up my end of the bargain and bring home some hardware too”.
Swift flew halfway around the world to watch her boyfriend, who also said before the game that he wanted “this one more than I’ve ever wanted a Super Bowl before in my life”.
But the pop superstar didn’t get first dibs on Kelce when the podium ceremony ended. The football superstar first kissed and embraced his mother Donna, and only afterwards did he pivot to Swift.
“Come here, girl,” Kelce said before the long embrace in front of the world’s cameras.
Swift will soak up the celebrations before flying out to Australia for three shows in Melbourne and four in Sydney, all sold out.
It is unclear if Kelce will reverse their roles and jump on a plane to follow Swift, with the championship parade in Kansas City likely to take priority for the time being.
He said there was “never a doubt in my mind” that he would win his third Super Bowl.
“We’ve got the best quarterback in the league, we’ve got the best offensive line in the league, and we’ve got the most determination out of any team in the NFL and you saw all that tonight,” he said.
“I guess at this point I take it for granted, but I know we’re in every single game I’ve ever played in, no matter what the score is or no matter how much time is left, that guy’s got magic in his right arm.”
After the game, Kelce said it’s on to the next feat.
“I’m going to go ahead and enjoy this and everything that just happened,” he said.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I’ve been able to go through three times now. It gets sweeter and sweeter every time.
“You know the goal has always been to get three. But we couldn’t get here without getting that two, and having that target on our back all year.”
Kelce’s vibe at the end of the game was an emphatic change after he bumped Andy Reid on the sideline during the second quarter, knocking the 65-year-old Kansas City coach a few steps back after teammate Isiah Pacheco fumbled inside the red zone.
Kelce ran over to Reid and screamed at him after the fumble.
“You guys saw that?” Kelce said.
“I’m going to keep it between us unless my mic’d up tells the world. I was just telling him how much I loved him.”
He credited Reid with helping him control his emotions.
“I got the greatest coach this game has ever seen. He’s unbelievable at not only dialling up plays and having everybody prepared, but he’s one of the best leaders of men I’ve ever seen in my life,” Kelce said.
“He’s helped me a lot with that, with channeling that emotion, with channeling that passion and I owe my entire career to that guy and being able to kind of control how emotional I get. I just love him, man.”
Reid joked that Kelce “keeps me young” and paid tribute to their special relationship, saying “there’s nobody I get better than I get him”.
“He tested that hip out. He caught me off balance. Normally, I’d give him a little bit, but I didn’t have any feet under me,” the coach said.
“The part I love is that he loves to play the game and he wants to help his team win. It’s not a selfish thing, that’s not what it is, and I understand that.
“So as much as he bumps into me, I get after him and we understand that.”
It was the second sideline incident involving Kelce and Reid this season.
During a game against the Raiders on Christmas Day, an angry Kelce spiked his helmet on the sideline, and when a staff member tried to hand it back to the tight end so that he could take the field, Reid grabbed the helmet and refused to give it back.
– with 7NEWS