Greetings from the sports desk located somewhere below the decks of the Good Pirate Ship RedState. Sammy the Shark and Karl the Kraken are preoccupied with debating the merits of candy corn-flavored fish crackers while waiting for the NHL season to start, so as you’ve no doubt guessed, I’m flying solo again.

Suppose people tuned into a Taylor Swift television appearance and an NFL game broke out. This was the scenario on Sunday, October 1, as the current reigning queen of all entertainment, Taylor Swift (sorry, Beyoncé, you’re so last week) attended the Kansas City Chiefs versus New York Jets game played at MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey. A sudden interest in the sport, perhaps? Not really. She was present to cheer on her rumored new boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Wait, what — you didn’t know the two were dating? Obviously, you have no daughters between the ages of six and 14 in your house. Or within the city limits of wherever you live.

NBC, which televised the Sunday night game, was fully prepared and came loaded for bear. No, not the Chicago Bears, presently loading up on losses as they race to hold first place in the chase for USC stud quarterback Caleb Williams. Whether they would draft him, thus throwing Justin Fields under the team bus, or trade the pick for desperately needed help at almost every position on a dreadful team is conjecture for after the season. Let’s get back to being all Taylor Swift all the time à la the NFL and NBC.

When NBC landed the Chiefs-Jets game, it sounded like football heaven: a duel between the Jets’ wily veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and the Chiefs’ all-world face of the league quarterback Patrick Mahomes. This plan tore apart when Rodgers’ Achilles tore apart four plays into his Jets debut. Unless your definition of an enjoyable viewing experience is watching Jets fans boo Rodgers’ beleaguered replacement (and the reason why New York obtained Rodgers), Zach Wilson, the game appeared to have gone from all eyes glued to the screen must-see TV for all NFL fans to an eyeball-less washout.

Then Swift and Kelce started dating, to the sound of great rejoicing at NFL and NBC’s respective headquarters. Included in the jolly jubilee was sports apparel and memorabilia mega-merchandiser Fanatics, which has seen a 400% increase in sales of Travis Kelce jerseys since he and Swift became an item. Swifties, as Taylor Swift’s utterly devoted fans self-identify, have zero hesitancy regarding spending expendable income on anything and everything related to their idol.

The game broadcast? NBC was ready. Oh, were they ready?

The broadcast came with a trailer with Swift’s music, a camera in the garage area of the stadium to track her and her entourage, and an eye to the suite where she was seen with Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and at one point Donna Kelce (Travis’ mother).

Front Office Sports noted there were 17 cutaways to Swift in the box as well as her picking at her nails as the game got tight. There were also two commercials advertising her film about the Eras Tour.

In other words, Swift paid closer attention to the game than NBC.

One thing NBC did pay attention to was the television ratings. As a press release trumpeted, NBC was handsomely rewarded for its efforts.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ down-to-the-wire 23-20 victory over the New York Jets last night on NBC and Peacock averaged approximately 27.0 million viewers – ranking as the most-watched Sunday show since Super Bowl LVII on FOX in February.

Given the matchup’s lack of appeal, it’s a safe bet a good percentage of the audience was shellshocked fathers whose bemused wives were taking a certain amount of football widow-fueled delight watching them watch every minute of a game in which they had precious little interest, the living room filled with daughters and friends of daughters all squealing with maximum delight and volume every time their all-time heroine appeared on screen. And yes, Dad, you’re taking the kids and company to see Taylor Swift’s concert movie when it opens on October 13.

Not to be outdone by NBC, the NFL’s social media department jumped on the craze, much to their subsequent regret.

The NFL on Monday removed references to Taylor Swift from their social media accounts after an uproar following the Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-20 win over the New York Jets.

The league’s X and Instagram got in on the hullabaloo over Swift attending the latest Chiefs game to support the team and her rumored boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

"The chiefs are 2-0 as swifties," the NFL’s Instagram account read on Monday morning.

The league’s X header also featured Swift laughing and clapping while at MetLife Stadium. But the league came under fire over the swift changes to their profiles.

Yeah, imagine that.

While this may seem like utter frivolity, there is a legitimate undercurrent to such matters. Genuinely caring about Taylor Swift’s love life is not on my dance card, as to date, I have yet to hear her inquire about mine. (For the record, my 40th wedding anniversary is this month.) However, to a whole lot of impressionable kids, Swift’s every move isn’t life or death. It’s far more important. Being able to knowledgeably speak to children, presently being bombarded with information of, shall we say, dubious quality, regarding matters of concern to them is vital in the effort to teach and spread conservative values and principles. You don’t have to care. You do need to be able to speak to those you care about. Even if it involves Taylor Swift.

Oh yes — the Chiefs won 23-20.