What is 'Tayvoodoo' and is it helping the Kansas City Chiefs win games?
On an episode of his podcast "New Heights" this season, Jason Kelce pointed out the Kansas City Chiefs had been on an auspicious winning streak, almost like a supernatural or magical power had been impacting the games.
"I feel like you guys are the 'Angels in the Outfield,'" the former Philadelphia Eagles center told his brother, Travis Kelce. "There's some unknown."
Travis jumped in and said, "Here you go with this f***ing Tayvoodoo s*** again." The brothers laughed, and a term that's been ubiquitous in the Taylor Swift fandom bled into sports.
"Tayvoodoo" is a superstition fans have coined, crediting Swift with being a sorcerer. The term became well-known during the Eras Tour when synchronous phenomena occurred during certain lyrics like lightning striking to the beat of "Bad Blood" in Nashville or a plane descending next to the Buenos Aires venue when Swift sang the "Labyrinth" line, "I thought the plane was going down, how'd you turn it right around?"
During the 2023 Chiefs season, fans believed the singer's attendance at 13 games — her favorite number — had something to do with the red-and-gold winning the Super Bowl. After all, it was Super Bowl 58 (5+8=13) against the 49ers (4+9=13) on Feb. 11 (2+11=13).
Even Swift's dad, Scott, stokes the hype. Taylor Moore sat next to the superstar's father on a flight in October from New Orleans.
"He sees y'alls 'Tayvoodoo' and eats it up," she said in a TikTok video following the random encounter. "He was showing me screenshots from Twitter of people posting about 'Tayvoodoo' ... and he was like, 'it is the coolest thing they think my daughter works magic.'"
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But can you put logic behind the hope of it all? That's the question I brought to Carlin Anderson, the co-owner of Premier Sport Psychology in Minnesota. Anderson and her husband, Justin, have owned their science-based, athlete-friendly, effective psychological services business for the past 14 years.
"The main piece of superstitions is most of the research suggests it's providing an athlete or individual with a perceived sense of control to alleviate or reduce anxiety," Anderson says. "Sometimes athletes in particular can very much swear by them, but the science would show that superstitions or rituals can offer a psychological kind of comfort."
Anderson, who has a doctorate in counseling psychology, also points to the placebo effect, a phenomenon where a person's health can improve after taking an ineffective substance because they believe they have a legitimate treatment.
"There is such a thing as a placebo effect, and sometimes superstitions can get blended into that," she says.
Tywan Martin, an associate professor of sports management and sports administration at the University of Miami, takes the belief in Tayvoodoo a step further.
"A lot of people fail to realize the power of energy," Martin says. "And once you give something that energy to ignite, to bring to life, it's as powerful as it could be."
With the Chiefs leading their division in the regular season, they receive home field advantage in the playoffs. Martin says if you mix the confidence of the players with the 75,000+ fans cheering at Arrowhead, it's a steep uphill battle for opposing teams coming to Kansas City.
"Let's use Texas A&M and the Seattle Seahawks as an example," he says. "They both have this idea of the 12th man to show respect and pay homage to their fans. The home field advantage is so important, and it's part of the reason why in the NFL athletes work their tails off to get it, because of the power of the fans."
So maybe there is an angel, not in the outfield, but in Suite 119 overlooking the field. Whether it's sheer coincidence or a touch of magic, one thing that Swifties and Chiefs fans can relate to is the "Tayvoodoo" has been working.
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