The NFL postseason is down to its last four teams ahead of next month’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas, with Taylor Swift and all of the fandom around her at Kansas City Chiefs games headlining Championship weekend.
The pop icon has generated plenty of interest since first seeing her boyfriend of six months, Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce, live in action at Arrowhead in September.
Not only have TV ratings for high-profile games skyrocketed since then, but the league has also been able to increase its viewership figures by increasing its female demographic, especially in young women.
The Chiefs – the reigning champions – defeated the Buffalo Bills last Sunday to set up an AFC Championship showdown with the Baltimore Ravens – a franchise that will be hungry to end its 12-year Super Bowl appearance drought, having last lifted the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2012.
On the other hand, the San Francisco 49ers – five-time Super Bowl winners – will face an NFL franchise that has never held an NFL parade in its own city. The Detroit Lions return to the NFC title game for the first time since 1991.
Regardless, sold-out crowds are expected for both conference championship games in Baltimore and San Francisco this weekend. So, who will be there? And who will they cheer on? DailyMail.com takes a look at each of the remaining four NFL franchise’s A-list fans.
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and Jason Kelce were in attendance for Chiefs-Bills last Sunday
Jeremy Renner, who hails from Modesto, California, is an avid 49ers fan (seen vs. LA in Sept.)
Eminem, a Detroit Lions fan, is seen during Detroit’s wild-card playoff win against the Rams
Former US Olympian Michael Phelps runs on the field with the Baltimore Ravens back in 2012
The Kansas City Chiefs
Let’s start with the franchise that has not only attracted the most celebrities but also the most noise in its VIP boxes at home this season – the Chiefs.
Taylor Swift is highly expected to travel to the East Coast this weekend, considering the magnitude of Sunday’s game at M&T Bank Stadium, along with Travis’ brother, Jason, who was seen shirtless and chugging beer in Buffalo last weekend.
There are even rumors of Travis retiring if he wins it all for the third time in the last five years, considering his age and his declarations made on his war-torn body to the Wall Street Journal in November.
But, the Chiefs aren’t only limited to one half of America’s most influential power couple when it comes to celebrity fans. Actors Paul Rudd and Jason Sudeikis have donned the same accessory that virtually almost Chiefs has worn once in their lives – bar Taylor, for now – a big red Kansas City hat.
Rudd, who grew up in Kansas City and went to college there, even once narrated the 2007 edition of the long-running sports documentary series Hard Knocks, featuring the Chiefs. Sudeikis once lived in a Kansas City suburb – Overland Park – which he still describes as his hometown, today, despite being born in Fairfax, Virginia.
Swift saw her beau of six months, Travis Kelce, have his first multiple TD game against the Bills
Travis’ brother and Eagles center Jason Kelce had a bit too much to drink during the Chiefs win
Paul Rudd, who was raised in Kansas City, attending the Super Bowl LIV pre-game with Jeremy Renner and his son, Jack Sullivan Rudd, in 2020
Actor Jason Sudeikis was raised in Overland Park, which he still considers his hometown today
Baltimore Ravens
In what is highly anticipated to be the Ravens’ biggest game of this decade, so far, a star-studded cast of high-profiles names is expected to rally fans for Sunday’s game in Baltimore.
The Ravens have gone about their business quietly, this season, and their glitzy set of fans, too. The franchise boasts the likes of Michael Phelps, Carmelo Anthony, Ed Norton, and Kodak Black, as some of its world-famous fans.
Phelps is the only one out of the four who actually hails from Baltimore, although Anthony spent most of his childhood there after moving to Maryland’s biggest city at eight years old.
Norton, best known for his starring role in the movie ‘Fight Club,’ is a Bostonian at heart, but has been spotted at Ravens and Orioles games in the past.
Kodak, who grew up in Pompano Beach, Florida, was once seeing dabbing Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on the sidelines in a 2018 game.
Carmelo Anthony grew up in Baltimore after moving there at age eight despite being from NYC
Phelps is a true Baltimorean and has been seen at M&T Bank often during the 2010s, as shown
Actor Edward Norton, known for his starring role in ‘Fight Club,’ is also a fan of the Ravens
American rapper Kodak Black, who’s from Florida, meets Ravens QB Lamar Jackson in 2018
San Francisco 49ers
The Niners are all too familiar with reaching the NFC Championship game, having been blown out by the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s matchup after QB Brock Purdy – ‘Mr. Irrelevant,’ at the time – went down injured, early on.
The franchise is also Jeremy Renner’s favorite team. The actor, a California native from Modesto – an hour-and-a-half drive from the San Francisco Bay Area. He once narrated the NFL Network documentary series The Timeline episode, ‘A Tale of Two Cities,’ which chronicles the history of the team’s rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys.
Renner also narrated the introductory video for the grand opening of Levi Stadium in 2014.
Actors Andy Samberg, who is from the San Fran suburb of Berklee, and Alison Brie are also fans of the 49ers, as well as Saweetie, an American rapper.
Honorable mentions include actress/singer Bella Thorne and iCarly’s Miranda Cosgrove.
Renner once narrated an episode of The Timeline episode, called ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, which chronicles the history of the 49ers’ rivalry with the Dallas Cowboys
Ex-Lonely Island member Andy Samberg (back) grew up in Berklee – a suburb of San Francisco
Like Renner, US rapper Saweetie was at the 49ers’ Week 2 matchup against the Rams in Sept.
Actress Alison Brie is another celeb rooting for the 49ers despite being raised in Los Angeles
The Detroit Lions
The Lions are hoping to make more history on Sunday, as they seek their first playoff win since 67 years ago, when it beat the 49ers and went on to win the NFL title.
‘We’re just getting over mountains right now,’ defensive end Aidan Hutchinson said after helping the Lions beat Tampa Bay to advance. ‘It’s just one mountain after another.’
Well, to get over this next hump, Lions fans are going to have to make some noise, and who better than Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, to lead the crowd.
Eminem (C) donned a black hoodie with fellow US rapper Big Sean (third from right) at a Lions playoff game against the Rams, earlier this month
American actor Keegan-Michael Key, known for his ‘Key & Peele’ sketches, is also a Lions fan
US singer Kid Rock hails from a small Michigan town that is a 33-mile drive north of Detroit
Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, aka Big Sean, might backup his fellow Lions rapper on stage, while Keegan-Michael Key, who is famous for his sketches in ‘Key and Peele,’ might get rid of some players’ nervousness with some comedy.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, could also perform on Sunday, as he too is a fan of the Lions, having grown up in Romeo, Michigan – 33-mile drive north of Detroit.
Eminem and Big Sean were seen at Ford Field earlier this month, donning Lions attire with former Detroit wideout Calvin Johnson.