Taylor Swift Sings ‘Football Helmet’ Lyric in a Surprise Mashup of 2 Love Songs in Germany amid Travis Kelce Romance
Swift blended together ‘Stay Stay Stay’ and ‘Paper Rings’ during the acoustic segment of her July 19 Eras Tour show
Taylor Swift likes shiny things — like football helmets!
On Friday, July 19, the 14-time Grammy winner seemingly expressed just how much in love she is with NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce, 34, during her third Eras Tour show at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena in Germany.
Swift, 34, treated the crowd with a surprise mashup of two old love songs: “Paper Rings” from 2019’s Lover album and “Stay Stay Stay,” which came out in 2012 and was re-released in 2021 on Red (Taylor’s Version).
“I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings, that’s right, you’re the one I want,” she sang before switching to “Stay, Stay, Stay,” which includes the lyric “That’s when you came in wearing a football helmet.”
The “football helmet” lyric has taken on a new meaning since 2023 when Swift started dating the Kansas City Chiefs tight end, frequently attended his games and shared a kiss with him after his 2024 Super Bowl victory.
Kelce attended his 13th and 14th Eras Tour shows on July 17 and July 18, but he missed the romantic mashup moment from Friday’s show because he was traveling back to the U.S. for Chiefs training camp in Missouri.
At Thursday’s show, the Super Bowl champ was seen with his arm around his girlfriend as they left the arena.
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The couple have shared several sweet moments throughout the Eras Tour, including when Kelce surprised Swifties by performing onstage with Swift at the June 23 show in London.
For his cameo, Kelce rose onto the stage from a stage door on the floor with Kameron Saunders and Jan Ravnik, who are the usual backup dancers for this part of the show, during the outfit change skit between “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart.”
Swift was lying on the floor at the end of “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” which is speculated to be about ex Matty Healy. This is when Kelce symbolically picked up the heartbroken performer off the stage and carried her to a couch area to change outfits.
Swift, still in performance mode, then begrudgingly changed clothes, while Kelce and the two dancers tried to hype her out of her ficтιтious funk. At the first note of “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart,” Swift put on a happy face.
Some concertgoers have even going so far as to dress as the NFL star.
Throughout Swift’s tour, some fans have donned Chiefs’ jerseys at her shows, including in England and in Germany.
At her Amsterdam show July 6, Swift gave a lyrical nod to Kelce’s jersey number during a surprise mashup of “Mary’s Song,” “So High School” and “Everything Has Changed” — with an emotional Kelce watching in person.
At the end of the mashup, Swift sang the closing lyrics to 2006 classic “Mary’s Song,” which like “Stay Stay Stay” has taken on a new meaning because of her romance with Kelce: “I’ll by 87, you’ll be 89 / I’ll still look at you like the stars that shine / In the sky, oh my my my.”
Fans cheered knowing Kelce’s jersey number is 87 and Swift was born in 1989 (and has an album named 1989).
At another show on June 21 in London, Swift also pulled out a surprise move that her boyfriend often employs during football games: using an invisible bow to release an arrow.
While performing “So High School,” a love song with pointed lyrics, Swift did the gesture and sang, “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle,” referring to his football talents and her songwriting prowess.
