12 December 2023 , 22:24
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New England Patriots' quarterback Bailey Zappe has risked upsetting Taylor Swift's fans by admitting he's not a fan of her music just before he faces off against her boyfriend Travis Kelce.
The love story between the 'Blank Space' singer and the Kansas City Chiefs' tight end has been the talk of both music and sports fans recently. With their relationship playing out in the public eye, it's possible Swift will be in the stands to cheer on Kelce when he plays against the Patriots.
However, it seems like Patriots ' QB Zappe won't be distracted by the buzz around his opponent and his famous girlfriend at Gillette Stadium. He's still on cloud nine after helping his team to a 21-18 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in his second start after being brought in from the cold.
In the game against Pittsburgh, he reminded Bill Belichick what he'd been missing at quarterback as he completed 19 out of 28 passes for 240 yards and scored three touchdowns. This win also represented a turning point for the Patriots as it it ended the team's worrying five-game losing streak.
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Zappe is now all set to take on the Chiefs, who have had a rough patch of their own in recent times and are coming into this clash having won once in their last four games. Now, the Patriots QB has potentially stoked the flames of a rivalry with upcoming opponent Kelce after making a comment about his girlfriend's work.
In an interview on WEEI's 'Jones and Mego', he was asked if he was a fan of 12-time Grammy winner Swift and her music. His response was a simple, however, as he simply said: "No ma'am." He further explained: "I'm not like not a fan, I just don't listen to that music. I'm a country guy."
He may have managed to avoid any backlash from the singer's fans by clarifying that he stopped listening to her music after she shifted towards a more commercial sound. Zappe went on to make it clear that his preference for other music genres doesn't mean he dislikes the singer.
Superstar couple Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have been dating since September (Gotham/GC Images)He shared: "So, I mean, that's probably why since she transferred over to pop, before even acknowledging that he was aware of some of the chart-topper's earlier work as a country artist, adding: "I mean, I know some of her old songs when she was country, but I don't dislike her."
On the more pressing topic of stopping the Chiefs from continuing their worrying run of form, Zappe is focused on securing consecutive wins in his third start of the season. He added: "The most important thing, of course, is to win. That's the thing I try to do every week. ... We were able to do that last week."
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