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Travis Kelce is a whiz on the field, but soon, he may put his smarts to the test elsewhere. According to a report from Variety, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is in talks to host a Prime Video reboot of Fox’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, which would this time employ celebrity guests in place of elementary schoolers.
The publication attributes the information to two unnamed sources familiar with the discussions. Those people also apparently noted that there are questions regarding “how much of a commitment Kelce could make to the venture if he continues playing football.”
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Billboard has reached out to Kelce’s managers for comment.
Originally hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? first aired on Fox in 2007. Running for a total of four seasons, the game show saw adult contestants competing to answer grade-school-level questions with the help of a group of actual elementary schoolers. In 2019, the series was briefly revived on Nickelodeon with John Cena at the helm.
As mentioned above, Prime Video’s version would reportedly feature celebrities instead of a panel of children, as it did in previous iterations. Whether one of those stars will be Taylor Swift, who has been dating Kelce since last summer, or any of his Chiefs teammates, such as quarterback Patrick Mahomes, remains to be seen.
The revamped show wouldn’t be the football pro’s first time dipping his toes into the world of entertainment. Kelce has starred in a number of commercials in recent years, including for brands such as Pfizer, State Farm and Experian, and he co-hosts a podcast called New Heights with his older brother, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
In 2016, Travis starred in the E! reality dating series Catching Kelce, which found a group of 50 women competing against each other for his heart. The Ohio native would later make fun of the show while hosting Saturday Night Live in 2023, quipping, “It was kind of like The Bachelor, except instead of roses I handed out footballs, and instead of watching, people did not.”
He added at the time, “It was a little embarrassing, but I got really good at reality TV.”
Russell Wilson knows how not to drop a football, but Ciara‘s breast milk? The stakes are so much higher. In an adorable video shared by Ciara via Instagram Stories on Wednesday (March 13), the quarterback focuses hard on balancing a capsule of the singer’s breast milk delicately in his hands while on a bumpy car […]
The new Reputation era begins now. A preview of Taylor Swift‘s rerecording of her 2017 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Look What You Made Me Do” from her upcoming Reputation (Taylor’s Version) album is featured in the new episode of the Apple TV+ 10-part sports docuseries The Dynasty: New England Patriots. According to People magazine, the […]
Ciara is her husband’s No. 1 fan no matter what Following the news that Russell Wilson had been cut from the Denver Broncos, the NFL quarterback took to Instagram on Monday (March 4) to thank “Broncos Country” for their support. “Over these last two years, you have welcoming my family and me with open arms […]
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Chris Mortensen, a decorated sports journalist who worked as the NFL reporter for ESPN for over 30 years, passed away on Sunday (March 3) in the morning hours. The news about Chris Mortensen has since gone viral, sparking many on X, formerly Twitter, to share their condolences and memories.
As reported by several outlets, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he worked as a sports reporter, and ESPN, Chris Mortensen worked for ESPN for over three decades, becoming a part of the network in 1991. As it related to NFL coverage, Mortensen became a trusted voice in sports journalism, and he appeared across ESPN in various shows.
Mortensen was known for having an inside ear to the typically insular happenings in NFL locker rooms and their management. He became known for delivering breaking news within the NFL.
Among Mortensen’s many honors, he was named the Dick McCann Award winner for the Pro Football Writers of America in 2016.
Some might remember Mortensen went public with his stage 4 throat cancer diagnosis and took leave from the network, also in 2016. He returned to reporting but not at the same pace as before. Mortensen’s last broadcast appearance was the 2023 NFL Draft.
The family of Mortensen shared details of the reporter’s passing. The cause of death was not readily known.
Chris Mortensen was 72.
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Photo: Getty
Turns out, the way to Taylor Swift‘s heart is magic tricks. In an interview on The Pivot Podcast uploaded Tuesday (Feb. 27), Mecole Hardman opened up about how he won over the 34-year-old pop star after she started dating his Kansas City Chiefs teammate Travis Kelce, and revealed details about the moment she gave him a big hug after he caught the game-winning touchdown at the 2024 Super Bowl.
The 25-year-old wide receiver started by praising Kelce for pulling Swift. “It’s Trav, bro,” he told the show’s hosts, laughing. “If anybody’s gonna do that, it’s Trav who’s gonna get that right there.”
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“Trav is such a cool dude, and Taylor’s so cool,” he added. “She just vibes.”
Hardman went on to say that he first met the “Anti-Hero” singer at a “get-together” at Kelce’s house. At the party, he wowed Swift with an impressive card trick.
“Honestly when we leave, we’re like, ‘D–n, that’s Taylor Swift! Ay, that’s crazy,” he said of his fellow players.
Flash forward to the Feb. 11 Super Bowl at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. After the Chiefs went into overtime against the San Francisco 49ers, Hardman secured a Kansas City victory by catching quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ game-ending pass.
Immediately after the game wrapped, Swift joined the players on the field and kissed Kelce in front of NFL cameras. She also made sure to give Hardman a big hug.
“She was like, ‘Good job, proud of you, good game,’” he recalled of the moment. “Then she said something about, ‘You and these magic tricks.”
“Every time she sees me she talks about [the card trick],” No. 12 continued. “‘Your hands are magical,’ or something like that.’”
Hardman’s remarks came the same day Andy Reid revealed that Swift baked homemade pop-tarts for the Chiefs’ offensive line. “She didn’t give me one, and the offensive linemen definitely didn’t give me one,” the coach said in an interview, looking slightly miffed that he didn’t get to try one of the singer’s pastries.
“Since the queen has passed away, she might be the most famous woman in the world,” Big Red added of the star. “She’s so grounded for who she is. I think it’s a great escape for her, where she can come [to games]. She sincerely enjoys the games.”
This just in: The Kansas City Chiefs’ successful 2023-24 season was brought to you in part by Taylor Swift‘s baking skills.
In a recent interview, head coach Andy Reid revealed that the 34-year-old pop star baked Pop-Tarts (Taylor’s Version) for the team’s offensive line — which includes her boyfriend, tight end Travis Kelce. “Behind the scenes, she likes to cook, so she made the offensive linemen these homemade Pop-Tarts,” Big Red shared in a Tuesday (Feb. 27) clip from his appearance on Pro Football Talk.
Unfortunately for Reid, Kelce and his teammates apparently weren’t down to share Swift’s confections. “She didn’t give me one, and the offensive linemen definitely didn’t give me one,” the coach said, looking slightly miffed that he didn’t get to try one of the singer’s pastries.
The interview comes a couple of weeks after the Chiefs triumphed over the San Francisco 49ers at the 2024 Super Bowl, which Swift attended. After watching the game from a suite at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium with Blake Lively, Lana Del Rey, Ice Spice and Kelce’s family, she joined her beau on the field and celebrated his win with a passionate kiss.
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Soon afterward, the 14-time Grammy winner jetted off to Australia, where she recently completed a string of Eras Tour dates in Melbourne and Sydney. Kelce joined her in the latter city for a zoo date, after which he watched one of her shows alongside Katy Perry and Rita Ora and passed out guitar picks to fans in the crowd.
Leading up to the season’s end, Swift proved to bring in a huge boost in viewership for the NFL simply by attending the Chiefs games as frequently as she did September-February. Reid has been vocal about his admiration for the musician in the past and first met her and her family when he worked for the Philadelphia Eagles way back when.
“Since the queen has passed away, she might be the most famous woman in the world,” he said of Swift on Pro Football Talk. “She’s so grounded for who she is. I think it’s a great escape for her, where she can come [to games]. She sincerely enjoys the games.”
Watch Reid tell the story of Swift’s homemade Pop-Tarts below.
The Taylor Swift effect is real — just ask Jason Kelce. While appearing on Shaquille O’Neal’s The Big Podcast With Shaq Wednesday (Feb. 14), the Philadelphia Eagles center opened up about the extreme pros and cons of the new level of fame he and his family reached after his little brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, began dating Swift last year.
“It’s crazy what it opens up, opportunity-wise,” he shared. “It’s crazy to feel how much joy you bring people, or how much you affect people’s daily lives.”
Jason has become a beloved icon in the Swiftie universe in the months since the “Anti-Hero” singer first went public with her and Travis’ relationship in September. The Philly Specials singer and his wife, Kylie, have joined Swift in watching a few of the younger Kelce’s games, including the 2024 Super Bowl at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, after which Jason dutifully celebrated the Chiefs win alongside his brother and the 14-time Grammy winner at a nightclub.
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On his Wednesday (Feb. 14) New Heights podcast episode, Jason gushed about Swift introducing him to both Ice Spice and Sir Paul McCartney at the big game. “All of a sudden I hear Taylor behind me like, ‘Jason, turn around!’” he recalled. “I look around, and Paul McCartney is standing right there. I’m like, ‘What the heck is this?’”
However, as Jason pointed out to Shaq, being in Swift’s orbit “has its drawbacks, for sure.” “Travis knows better than I do,” he told the basketball star. “He had to completely move out of his house. People were just staying by his house. The first day he moved into the new house … a gated community, someone knocks on a window of the house.”
“We’ve always been big in the football world, Travis especially,” Jason added. “The Taylor world and the pop culture world, that’s a whole different level. It’s a new demographic that wasn’t there before.”
Watch Jason Kelce open up to Shaq above.
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Source: Michael Owens / Getty / Super Bowl LVIII / Patrick Mahomes
So, despite all the people claiming they were not going to watch this year’s Super Bowl LVIII for many reasons *coughs* Taylor Swift, it turns out this year’s edition of the big game was the most watched ever.
ESPN reports a record number of eyes were in front of their television screens to see the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers, Usher’s brilliant Apple Music Halftime show, and less than a minute of Taylor Swift.
Per ESPN:
According to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, the Kansas City Chiefs’ 25-22 overtime victory versus the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday averaged 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms. That shattered last year’s mark of 115.1 million for Kansas City’s last-play victory over the Philadelphia Eagles with a 7% increase.
Nielsen also says a record 202.4 million people looked at some part of the game across all networks at one point, which was a 10% jump over the previous year’s 183.6 million.
It also eclipses the 2016 Super Bowl between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers on CBS, which had 112.34 million viewers.
It was only the second Super Bowl to go into overtime and the second straight event to average over 100 million viewers.
Possible Reasons For This Year’s Super Bowl’s Ratings Success
On top of the thrilling game that saw the Chiefs need overtime to send the San Franciso 49ers back to the bay without the Lombardi trophy, again, there was also the added hoopla of Taylor Swift being in the building and, of course, highly anticipated halftime performance from Usher.
Leading up to the game, the extreme MAGA crowd somehow managed to link Taylor Swift, President Joe Biden, and Super Bowl LVIII in some ridiculous conspiracy theory.
Following the game’s result, President Biden even mocked them, using the infamous “Dark Brandon” meme with the caption, “Just like we drew it up.”
We will be tuned in again next year.
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Patrick Mahomes added to his growing trophy case this weekend after leading the Kansas City Chiefs to victory against the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday (Feb. 11). With the victory, Patrick Mahomes was named Super Bowl LVIII MVP, marking the third time he’s won the honor.
With the MVP win, Patrick Mahomes etched his name alongside greats such as Joe Montana and Tom Brady with the retired quarterbacks also winning the honor three or more times. With the win, the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII victory is the third of the Coach Andy Reid and Mahomes era, and the fourth overall for the franchise as noted by CBS Sports.
The contest went into overtime with the 49ers showing a ton of grit behind the hard work of Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and Deebo Samuel and their defensive corps. However, Mahomes carried out Reid’s game plan and the Niners never had an answer in the extra period, leading the Chiefs to victory and becoming a dynasty in the same breath.
Mahomes also joins the aforementioned Brady and Montana, along with Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman as the only starting quarterbacks to win at least three Super Bowls.
“It’s the start of one,” Mahomes said to CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson after being asked if Kansas City Chiefs are a dynasty. “We’re not done. I know we’re going to celebrate tonight, but we’re not done. We’ve got a young team, we’re going to keep this thing going.”
Congratulations to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
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Photo: Getty