Travis Kelce’s Teammate Reveals Why He Was “Blown Away” by Taylor Swift the First Time He Met Her

"We were just blown away....just how much of a normal person she is."

Taylor Swift at the 2024 Super Bowl
(Image credit: Getty Images)

There are a lot of very impressive, larger-than-life things about Taylor Swift. That statement is so obvious that it might help explain why the thing that really blows people away when they meet her IRL is how not larger-than-life she is in person.

That's what Travis Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs teammate, George Karlaftis said stood out most to him the first time he met the mega star, anyway. During an interview for The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week, the NFL defensive end opened up about his first impressions of Swift, who started dating Chiefs' tight end Kelce in mid-2023.

"The first time I met her was after one of the games, it was with my girlfriend—and Travis, obviously," Karlaftis explained (per The Daily Mail) when asked what one Taylor Swift fan account on Instagram that shared a clip from the interview described as "THE" question.

"We were just blown away," Karlaftis continuned. "Obviously I know Travis and I've known him for some time... but just how much of a normal person she is."

And, yes, the NFL player did list some of the examples of Swift's normal person-hood, for anyone who needs concrete examples of proof she's a real person and not a culture-making robot or member of an advanced alien species that's just hanging out on earth, writing pop hits for fun or something.

"Super humble, super kind, and just awesome to be around," Karlaftis said, adding that she reminded him of Kelce in that way. "Very much like 87, so when you meet that big a superstar it's not what you expect, but that's how she was and is."

Karlaftis' take on Swift echoes what many others have said after meeting her, including another one of Travis Kelce's friends, WWE star Baron Corbin, who gushed about the "Fortnight" singer during a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet.

"I had conversations with her. Super dope, super humble. Down to earth," Corbin said (per the Daily Mail). "And it’s all Kelce's buddies from high school and home and they're all super cool. Nobody's got egos in there."

Corbin, who watched a Chiefs game in Kelce's suite with Swift in 2023, stressed that the singer was welcoming and warm to him and his brother right away.

"She just walks right up to everybody, gives them a hug," he said. "And gives us a hug. It was like you were instantly family."

Contributing Editor at Marie Claire

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.