Wondering if Taylor Swift can make it from Tokyo to Las Vegas in time for the Super Bowl? Tired. Wondering if she can spend Valentine’s Day in Kansas City and make it to Melbourne, Australia in time for her next Eras Tour date? Very, very wired.
The question isn’t an appealing one because I assume that Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, are fans of the martyr-based holiday, nor do I believe that February 14 has special meaning to Swift due to her role in Garry Marshall’s 2010 romantic comedy, Valentine’s Day. (She’s not a cheerleader, she’s on the dance team.) Instead, it’s because if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl on February 11, the team’s victory parade will be held on February 14, Kansas City’s city council agreed this week.
As anyone who’s traveled internationally knows, going to work, then flying 13 hours, then going to a significant other’s work event the day after that flight is hardly unheard of, despite breathless headlines to the contrary. If folks who fly commercially can do it, a billionaire with two private jets, a 17-hour time gain, and the support of the nation of Japan can make it work, folks.
If all goes as planned, Swift will be in Nevada the night before the Chiefs take the field against the San Francisco 49ers for the so-called Big Game. And if there isn’t room for Swift’s jet at the four airports nearest Allegiant Stadium, as the San Francisco Chronicle suggested (with hope in its heart, perhaps, as Kelce said Friday that the support he gets from Swift gives him “a reason to play that much harder”), she has time to land further away and drive. It’s only 270 miles or so from LA proper to Las Vegas, which, by Midwestern standards, is a quick and easy jaunt.
That jaunt gets harder when Swift returns to the road. That 17 hours Swift gains on her trip from Tokyo to Vegas for the Super Bowl will be lost when she travels to the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, where she’s set to perform on Friday, February 16. The show begins at 6 p.m. local time, which is 1 a.m. Friday CT. If Swift expects to be fully rested and ready to perform her physically demanding set, she’ll need to travel well before then.
“It’s the biggest jinx of all time, but we did the same thing last year — although everyone might have forgotten,” Kansas City, Missouri mayor Quinton Lucas said of the city’s parade plans. The $975,000 parade would be the city’s fourth since 2015 and will (if it happens) wind through downtown before ending in a rally at Union Station, KSHB reports. While Swift certainly would not be the central figure in a celebration of the team, it’s likely her appearance is hoped for—and if she leaves straight after the rally, she might be in great shape for a show in the following days. As with her trip to Nevada, other working people have likely done worse.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, officials are far less forthcoming when it comes to a Niners celebration. Sources tell the Chronicle if warranted, a parade will be held in downtown San Francisco on February 15.
It’s worth noting that despite their name, the 49ers actually play about 50 miles away, in the city of Santa Clara. That city’s mayor, Lisa Gillmor, said Santa Clara would love to host the parade, but the team “would have to support it financially” as “we’re not in a position to do that.” Meanwhile, San Francisco—which is facing an $800 million budget shortfall—has yet to set aside funds for a possible parade.
