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Tory Barron
Are you ready for it? If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s comments during his appearance Wednesday on the “Today” show are any indication, there’s a real possibility of Taylor Swift headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
“We would always love to have Taylor play. She is a special, special talent, and obviously she would be welcome at any time,” Goodell said, when asked if Swift was invited to play the Super Bowl.
“Is it in the works?” “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie asked.
“I can’t tell you anything about it,” Goodell replied.
“Is it a maybe?” Guthrie followed up.
“It’s a maybe,” he hedged.
Despite Goodell’s noncommittal response, Swifties have been speculating for months that the stars (read: numbers) are aligning for the pop superstar — who is newly engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — to take center stage in Santa Clara, California.
Levi’s Stadium serves as the home to the San Francisco 49ers, and four plus nine equals Swift’s lucky No. 13.
If that isn’t enough evidence, consider that she now owns the rights to her first six albums, and the “soda wars” (Pepsi became the main sponsor of the halftime show in 2013, the same year Swift signed a deal with Coca-Cola) became a thing of the past when Apple Music took over the official sponsorship role in 2023.
There’s also the business of Swift’s upcoming 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which will be released Oct. 3. That’s after the eligibility deadline for the 68th Grammy Awards, so she may be inclined to put on a show of her own in early February.
On the off chance you’re still not buying it (we appreciate the skepticism), it’s worth pointing out Swift’s love of sourdough bread, a San Francisco-area staple.
It would be a full circle moment for the singer, who performed the national anthem at the Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving Day game back in 2006 and at the 2010 NFL kickoff concert in New Orleans.
Swift also teased “ME!” at the 2019 NFL draft and debuted the trailer for her album “Midnight” during the third quarter of the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals’ 2022 showdown.
Dare we say, it’s been a long time coming.