Travis Kelce has some words for his haters. The Kansas City Chiefs are again in the AFC Conference Championship and will play against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday for the title. And like others on the team, the Chiefs’ tight end is only focusing on his upcoming games.

Kelce’s brand recognition has undoubtedly improved immensely due to Taylor Swift and the Swifties. From gaining millions of followers to exponential market growth of his jersey, Kelce’s popularity has increased, especially after Swift’s relationship admission. However, with immense popularity comes increased hate and criticism. Therefore, this time, Kelce has come forward to address his off-field scrutiny and his and Swift’s way of handling the “outside noise.”

Travis Kelce has brought up everything by himself?
In Friday’s KC pregame press conference, the tight end appeared before the media to discuss his upcoming game and the off-field boost he received in the 2023 season. During the press conference, a reporter asked him, as a player accustomed to handling attention throughout his career, whether Travis Kelce has noticed any increase or intensification of attention off the field while reflecting on the past year. To this, Kelce acknowledged that he does not heed the increased attention. He believes that the Super Bowl and how he lives his off-field life helped boost the attention he received last year.

The tight end further gave a five-word message hinting at the people who think Kelce’s popularity has increased because of Taylor Swift. Kelce said, “I brought this upon myself, and I do enjoy having fun with it all, and the biggest thing is making sure my focus is right here in this building.” He talked about the challenges of being under scrutiny and criticism every time for off-field activities and how he handles it. Kelce mentioned that the media may suggest that he or the team lacks focus, especially during a rough patch. However, he emphasized the importance of understanding the team’s actual situation by being inside the building.

Calling it all the “outside noise,” Kelce stressed the need to “compartmentalize” and filter the external noise to ensure everyone within the team has the correct perception and stays focused on their tasks when they enter the building. Additionally, he addressed how he and Swift have decided to handle the “outside noise” regarding their dating. Kelce admitted, “The only thing we’ve talked about is that as long as we’re happy we can’t listen to anything that’s outside noise.“

This is almost precisely Swift’s statement last year when she was asked a similar question during her TIME magazine interview.

In December 2023, Taylor Swift became TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year. During her shoot and interview, the pop icon opened up publicly on her relationship with Travis Kelce for the first time. She mentioned that when Kelce talked about her in his podcast, explaining how he failed to meet Swift and gift the customized bracelet to her during her The Eras Tour at Arrowhead, the two started dating each other soon after that.

She said, “So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple.” Addressing their way of handling the people’s opinions and trash talks, the 12-time Grammy winner said, “When you say a relationship is public, that means I’m going to see him do what he loves, we’re showing up for each other, other people are there, and we don’t care.”

This shows the two lovebirds enjoying their company and being proud of each other. As they state, they “don’t care” about the “outside noise.”