On August 13, 2025, Taylor Swift joined the New Heights podcast, hosted by brothers Jason and Travis Kelce, for a long, wide-ranging conversation about music, life, and how she learned football. While explaining early misunderstandings about the game, she used a short, image-based example to describe her first mental picture of football matchups:
“I thought it was like Jared Goff is here and Josh Allen is here.”
That sentence was delivered as part of a larger, self-deprecating story about how little she knew at first. The line was quick and playful, not a critique of either player’s skill, but because Taylor Swift has a massive global audience, the clip spread rapidly online.
The hosts laughed and riffed with her in real time, which helped keep the moment light. The exchange read more like a funny aside in a friendly interview than a serious sports comment.
Jared Goff reacted with calm and humor

When reporters asked Jared Goff about the mention the following day, he answered simply and without drama:
“That was a crazy couple hours last night for me and my phone.”
He added in the same interview, “Very cool, I guess,”
Showing he was amused rather than upset or eager to turn the moment into a public spectacle. Goff’s short replies matched the playful tone of the podcast, and he returned the focus quickly to team matters.
Goff did not attempt to inflate the moment or use it as a platform; his responses were brief, grounded, and matter-of-fact. That restraint helped keep the story from escalating into anything more than a light media blip. It also showed how a professional athlete can acknowledge attention without changing the day-to-day priorities of practice and preparation.
Podcast hosts kept the tone playful and explanatory with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

On the show, both Kelce brothers treated Taylor Swift’s comment as a natural place to explain football basics for listeners who might also be new to the sport.
Jason Kelce quipped, “I would love to see Jared Goff play on defense,”
Using the joke to extend the laughter rather than to criticize. Taylor Swift followed with other simple admissions about learning the game, saying succinctly,
“I didn’t know what a first down was.”
That back-and-forth helped make the segment feel like friendly teaching rather than a dig at players. Since the exchange happened during a long, conversational interview, the hosts’ jokes and Taylor Swift’s candid lines blended into the wider chat about how she became interested in football. The tone remained explanatory and light, aimed at entertaining listeners and clarifying Taylor Swift’s learning curve.
Why did the brief mention draw attention?

The story spread quickly because it appealed to two large audiences: Taylor Swift’s fans and NFL followers. A small, clear quote from a public figure will often get more reach than its content alone would suggest.
Here, the quoted lines of Taylor Swift’s simple visual and the hosts’ quick jokes were easy to share and to caption, which made them natural highlights for news outlets and social clips. Although the language used on the podcast was straightforward and non-accusatory, the attention stayed light and ephemeral.
What does the moment show about culture and sports?

Swift’s name-check and Goff’s calm reply show how celebrity remarks can briefly cross cultural lines. This instance did not alter either party’s public standing; it created a moment of shared amusement and a short news cycle that relied on plain, quotable lines.
The exchange is an example of how friendly, offhand comments can trend widely without producing controversy or long-lasting effects.
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