Ravens Insider: Dear Taylor Swift: The Ravens’ flock has Swifties, too

[ExtremeRavens]

Meghan Fitzgerald has been a fan of Taylor Swift since she was a student at Mercy High School in Baltimore, latching onto the singer’s “Fearless” album and becoming more interested as she shifted from country to pop music.

“We’ve kind of grown up together,” Fitzgerald, 33, said. “I would say she’s the biggest star in the world.”

A true Baltimorean, Fitzgerald also grew up watching Ravens games on Sundays, a tradition she continues with her friends. “The Ravens are in my blood,” she said.

In a twist Charm City could have hardly fathomed before last fall, when the singer-songwriter first attended a Kansas City Chiefs game to cheer on tight end Travis Kelce, Sunday’s AFC championship game between the Ravens and the Chiefs seems likely to feature an appearance from none other than Swift herself.

And even though Fitzgerald doesn’t have any bad blood with Swift (far from it), she’s eager to see the Ravens take down her beau Kelce’s team.

“It’ll be fun to play them at home, and get to beat them and see her in the stands,” said Fitzgerald, who might tailgate and watch with crowds in Federal Hill. “My allegiance does not change.”

Even Gov. Wes Moore would “proudly welcome Taylor Swift to Baltimore,” he told The Baltimore Sun in a statement. But the Ravens will always be #1.

“Though the Chiefs have quite the reputation, if she comes she’ll watch our fearless Ravens win big on Sunday, but I know she’ll shake it off,” he said.

It’s a stance shared by a number of Maryland Swifties — some more torn up about it than others — who will be watching for Swift at M&T Bank Stadium while cheering on the home team.

“I’m very conflicted this weekend,” said Towson resident Siobhan Keplinger, 44.

“I’m 100% Ravens win, full stop. But on the same hand, I’d really like another week of if,” she said, referencing the fanfare that Swift’s appearances have elicited and watching her with Kelce off the field.

Keplinger, who works in facilities management at Towson University, became a Ravens fan after initially supporting the team now called the Washington Commanders, while growing up in Prince George’s County.

She jumped on the Swift bandwagon during the star’s “Reputation” era; beyond enjoying her music, Keplinger said she’s a fan of Swift the “businesswoman.”

Swift, whose net worth is over $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg News analysis, performed her The Eras Tour to sold-out arenas across the country last year.

Fallston High School students Natalie Ellerman, 17, left, and Emma Callahan, 17, right, are the founders of their school’s “Swiftie Society,” a club for Taylor Swift fans. Here, they carry a cutout of Taylor Swift in a school hallway. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Staff photo)

Since beginning to date Kelce, she’s taken to attending his games — causing quite a stir.

Last Sunday’s Chiefs vs. Bills game averaged over 50 million viewers, according to the NFL, setting a new record as the most-watched Divisional or Wild Card game. But Swift, who repeatedly shows up on screen during Chiefs games now, was met that day with booing.

Ahead of Sunday’s game, some have taken to social media to express disinterest in seeing her. Others have shared more lighthearted memes.

And two teen Swifties are all but certain she’ll be at M&T Bank Stadium.

“I do think she will definitely come” to Baltimore, said Natalie Ellerman, 17. “I don’t see why she wouldn’t.”

Ellerman and Emma Callahan, both seniors at Fallston High School, co-founded an unofficial afterschool group called the “Swiftie Society” last fall.

The group’s first meeting, to answer trivia questions and rank Swift’s albums, drew a crowd of around 20 people, Callahan estimated. She said she’s rooting for Swift and Kelce’s relationship, and wants to see the Ravens win, after her mom got her interested in the team over the last few years.

For others, it’s Swift who’s sparked a newfound passion for football.

“I did not care about football before this. I never watched it,” Lauren Greenbaum, 25, said. “Initially, I watched to see her a couple times. Now, I’ve watched every single game of the playoffs.”

Greenbaum, who lives in Timonium and works as a financial consultant at T. Rowe Price, has been a Swift fan since the release of her debut album. She started playing guitar in 5th grade, inspired by Swift, and in her first year of high school at The Bryn Mawr School started a Tumblr blog dedicated to the singer.

Lauren Greenbaum is pictured with a Taylor Swift guitar she bought in 2020 and a holiday gift, just some of many items she has collected. She said she didn’t really care about football before Swift started appearing at games, and has now watched all of the playoff games. (Lloyd Fox/Staff photo)

In 2014 the blog “got really big,” Greenbaum said, adding that Swift, who used the social media platform back in the day, followed her and liked one of her selfies. That same year, she went to Swift’s 1989 tour and the star’s team gave her and her younger sister front row tickets, she said.

“It felt like I always had a role model,” Greenbaum said. Her love of Swift connected her with some of her closest friends, she added, including one in Australia.

“Never in my life would I have rooted against Taylor Swift,” she said — but on Sunday, she’ll be cheering for the Ravens to make it to the Super Bowl, as she watches the game on TV, likely with her boyfriend, sister and family.

Other Swifties will be attending the game in person, including Washington College student Kennedy Thomason, who bought tickets to the event with her boyfriend, Kyle Schultz, before the Chiefs defeated the Bills.

“This is my Eras Tour,” Thomason, 23, recalled Schultz saying when they decided to splurge. The pair attended the actual Eras Tour together in Massachusetts last May, an event that Thomason called a “once in a lifetime experience.”

Thomason said she’d been rooting for the Chiefs in their most recent game, so that Swift might come to Baltimore, but come Sunday, she’ll be behind the Ravens, a self-proclaimed “die-hard” fan.

She’s convinced Swift will also be at M&T Bank Stadium, and said she wants to “catch a glimpse.”

“My hope is simply that she comes to the stadium,” Thomason said. “I would like her to see the stadium, see the energy and hopefully take away some memories from Baltimore. And then maybe we’ll end up on her next tour.”

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