Even before Taylor Swift’s confirmed romance with Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, sports fans who are also Swifties found ways to incorporate their favorite musician’s work into their workout routine, or sports fandoms. Taylor has used sports metaphors in her art for a long time, dating all the way back to 2009 and Fearless, the music video for “You Belong With Me," which is American football-themed.

As a sworn Swiftie and an avid sports fan, I thought it would be fun to look at Taylor’s discography from a different, but hopefully interesting, angle—sports.

Today we will explore what I think are Taylor’s top ten songs that can be related to sports, but looking at it from a fandom viewpoint. No matter if you are an individual sports fan or a team player through and through, here are a few songs to listen to next time your favorite athlete(s) and/or team(s) win, lose, tie, or just to remind yourself how much you love them:

The Alchemy (from The Tortured Poets Department, 2024)

“The Alchemy” is a self-explanatory number one in this list with more than one direct reference to sports, and more specifically American football. “Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads / Beer stickin’ to the floor, cheers chanted ’cause they said. There was no chance of trying to be the greatest in the league. Where’s the trophy? He just comes runnin’ over to me," Taylor writes, gushing over her boyfriend Travic Kelce, after she attended quite a few of his Chiefs games in person last NFL season.

The Alchemy is a wonderful pop rock song to dedicate to one’s favorite sports team, especially when they are on a “winning streak," as Taylor sings in the song itself. While some deem the football imagery throughout the song predictable, “The Alchemy” remains a fan favorite, with fans creating numerous so-called ‘edits’ (videos with multiple clips and/or photos with pleasant visual transitions, usually to popular songs) of their favorite athletes or sports teams to the song.

Long Live (from Speak Now, 2010)

“Long Live”, a song originally about Taylor Swift’s gratitude and love towards her fan base and her band, can be applied perfectly to a sports scenario of any sort, and comes as a very close second after “The Alchemy”. One might argue they can even share first place in this ranking. The second chorus of the song can be observed as a beautiful metaphor to teamwork, camaraderie and achieving something grand together: “Long live the walls we crashed through / How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you / I was screaming, "Long live all the magic we made" / And bring on all the pretenders, I'm not afraid / Long live all the mountains we moved / I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you / I was screaming, "Long live that look on your face" / And bring on all the pretenders / One day, we will be remembered.” This is another widely used song in the online space, particularly TikTok, to dedicate to one’s favorite team and showcase moments of them either winning a trophy, or showing amazing team spirit.

…Ready for It? (from reputation, 2017)

This electropop anthem takes the third place in this ranking mostly for its grandiose beat, which builds up a sort of feisty mood, but also for the lyric that is being repeated quite a few times throughout the song - “Baby, let the games begin,”, which can definitely be related to a sports event or sports in general. The song itself is about a relationship that is being kept on the down low, incorporating themes of robbers, heists, and crime. Despite that, it is a very passing song to pump up before one’s favorite team plays or before a favorite athlete performs or competes. It creates quite a monumental feeling of expectation, excitement, and fervor, all emotions that can easily be connected with sports.

The Man (from Lover, 2019)

Some may wonder what the song “The Man” is even doing in this ranking, and perhaps so high up, but there is a very good reason for it. “The Man” is arguably one of the best songs Taylor Swift has written, not sonically or lyrically, but for its message—this synth-pop tune calls out the blatant sexism and inequality women face every day, in comparison to men who do not have to work as hard to achieve things in life. One of the biggest chink in sports’ armor nowadays remains the gender inequality.

From stereotyping to sexism to gigantic pay gaps especially amongst professional male and female athletes, women do not have it easy at all in the current sports scene, no matter if they play sports as amateurs or if they are professional or high-profile athletes, e.g., Megan Rapinoe. The US women’s national soccer team’s star, has been very outspoken about the existing pay gap between her and her colleagues from the women’s team and their counterparts from the men’s national team. That is why a song like “The Man” is an amazing tool to empower all the young girls and women out there who love sports, and especially who support female athletes or teams.

Style (from 1989, 2014)

“Style” is arguably one of Taylor Swift’s most popular and recognizable songs, and by now, ten years after its original release, it is a classic in Taylor’s discography and a staple in today’s pop music. Despite the fact that the theme in this synth/funk-pop tune is relationships again, I would argue once more it can be transferred to sports—the catchy lyric “we never go out of style” can help celebrate many wins and/or milestones of one’s favorite athlete or sports team. To add on to this, “when we go crashing down / we come back every time” is also an instant classic slogan for sports fans.

Look What You Made Me Do (from reputation, 2017)

Another very popular Taylor song, the lead single of her 2017 album reputation, “Look What You Made Me Do” is an electro-pop anthem about those who wronged Taylor, especially after the very public shattering of her persona after the rift with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in 2016. In a sports context, this is a great song for fans to listen to after their favorite athletes and/or teams have suffered a setback in my opinion, and especially if fans feel it has been unjust. “Look What You Made Me Do” is the perfect song to get into 'revenge mode’, speaking figuratively, of course, and support one’s team through their tough times until they finally rise again, and can say, look what you made us do.

Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? (from The Tortured Poets Department, 2024)

“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is a very interesting piece of work by Taylor Swift, because it is personal, and it allows listeners to peek through her own point of view of what huge stardom feels like. This song features in this ranking exactly because of this. Nowadays, there are many athletes who have risen to great fame all across the planet, be it football (soccer) players, Formula 1 drivers, tennis players, gymnasts, NFL and NBL players, and so on. Swift says the following on an Amazon Music commentary about the song: “What do we do to our writers, our artists, and our creatives? We put them through hell.

We watch what they create, then we judge it. We love to watch artists in pain, often to the point where I think sometimes as a society we provoke that pain, and we just watch what happens.” I know many may argue that sports are not art, but for their fandoms they certainly are. There is poetry in sports; there is pain and there is triumph; there are the highest highs and the lowest lows imaginable. This is why I think this song is very fitting for sports fans to enjoy and think about their favorite sports stars, and everything they have been through and sacrificed to reach the top of the world.

Fearless (from Fearless, 2008)

Fearless is one of Taylor Swift’s most famous country/country pop tunes, and it is a very endearing song about falling in love. Despite that, as with other songs in this ranking, it is here because it promotes the idea of fearlessness—but not the totally unafraid state of mind where one thinks they are invincible, but more of a still vulnerable place where there is fear, but you do it anyway, you jump in anyway. I think this idea is a staple for sports, any sport really—taking a risk, a gamble—and seeing whether or not it will work out. Trying out a new formation in, or a different move; being afraid of the unknown or the outcome of a match or an event, but giving it all anyways—fearlessly, always.

You’re On Your Own, Kid (from Midnights, 2022)

This upbeat alternative pop-rock piece by Taylor quickly became a fan favorite and inspired millions to start making the famous friendship bracelets that are being traded at every Eras Tour concert, and at other events too (even sports ones!). It is a song that beautifully describes the coming of age and fits in the sports narrative, especially for people who are fans of athletes who they have seen ‘grow up’, metaphorically speaking. As with other above-mentioned songs, this one is also widely used in edits on TikTok and other social media with slideshows and videos of people’s favorite sports stars and their development and growth over the years, and there are some truly endearing such videos out there.

Shake It Off (from 1989, 2014)

Apart from the fact that Taylor Swift stars as a literal cheerleader in the “Shake It Off” music video, this song finds a place in this ranking because of its upbeat, infectious rhythm and lyrics, prompting the listener to shake off any negative experiences and people who have wronged them (the so-called “dirty liars and cheats of the world”). It is a great closing of this ranking, ending on a high note. “Shake It Off” has become one of Swift’s most celebrated tracks for a good reason: it resonates with the universal experience of overcoming challenges and refusing to let setbacks define you and can be applied to any context, including a sports one.

Taylor Swift is undoubtedly one of the most exceptional musicians ever, and her varying discography has something for everyone. Personally, as a huge sports fan, these are my top ten favorite songs to relate to my sports fandoms and enjoy before watching a race or a match. A playlist of them can be found here.