Taylor Swift repped the Knicks at the Garden and some Philly fans feel betrayed. But should they?
Swift sat courtside during New York’s Game 4 win over the Spurs and sparked some debate over her fandom. But she’s had a “magical opinion” of MSG and the Knicks since she was a kid.
If you ask some Philadelphia fans, Taylor Swift’s claim to the city should be revoked.
On Wednesday, Swift sat on Madison Square Garden’s celebrity row to watch the New York Knicks, who swept the Sixers out of the playoffs last month, claw back from a 29-point deficit against the San Antonio Spurs to take a three-games-to-one series lead in the NBA Finals. Swift, who’s from Reading and spent her childhood summers in Stone Harbor, N.J., cheered on New York despite her strong ties to the Philadelphia area.
The pop star wore a blue T-shirt with “Stevie Knicks” — a nod to Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks — printed in Knicks orange. She was seated between friends and fellow musicians Este and Alana Haim, who sported “Knickole Kidman” and “Knickelback” shirts, and Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, whose character, Olivia Benson, inspired one of Swift’s cats’ names.
After Swift was spotted at the Garden, Philadelphia fans took to social media to voice their displeasure with the singer’s apparent New York fandom.
So, what’s actually going on? Did Swift ever rep the Sixers or has she always been a big Knicks fan?
In April 2002, a 12-year old Swift performed the national anthem before the Sixers tipped off against the Detroit Pistons at the First Union Center (now Xfinity Mobile Arena). Sixers public address announcer Matt Cord, who retired after this past season, introduced the future global star as “Taylor Swift from Reading, Pa.”
Swift, who also performed the anthem before Game 3 of the 2008 World Series at Citizens Bank Park, recently reflected on singing at her hometown NBA team’s arena during a December appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but she did not mention where her NBA fandom lies. She instead focused on the American flag-themed attire she wore.
“You know, when you’re like 11 and you’ve got that one outfit that you just know goes so hard,” Swift said. “You just know that when you put this on, you’re like, ‘I’m sorry, I’m unstoppable today.’”
In 2014, Swift told Time magazine that she began to root for New York earlier that year when she moved to the Big Apple. That year, the “Process Sixers” went 19-63, but the Knicks were not worldbeaters either, finishing 37-45. Her reason for embracing the Knicks evidently was not because of how the team was playing. Instead, it was because of a friendship she formed with New York big man Amar’e Stoudemire.
“So you run into a bunch of different, interesting types of people at the Met Ball,” Swift told Time. “I’ve gone the last four years. And the most normal people at that event, every single time, are Amar’e Stoudemire and his wife Alexis. I talk with them and hang with them every time I’m there. So I’ve always had this sort of love of the Knicks, just because Amar’e is so cool.”
It also seems the Sixers did not claim a special place in Swift’s heart because they invited her to sing, either. In fact, as she told Time, she also performed at Madison Square Garden as a child. The Mecca seemed to leave a greater impression on her than the Sixers’ South Philly arena.
“And also I performed at the Knicks’ — at Madison Square Garden’s kids talent competition at halftime when I was 12 or 13,” Swift said. “And ever since then, I’ve had this kind of sparkly, magical opinion of Madison Square Garden and the Knicks, since they let me sing when I was a little kid.”
As some on social media have pointed out, Swift also attended Game 3 of the Knicks’ Eastern Conference finals matchup at the Cleveland Cavaliers. At that game, seated next to her fiancé and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, she appeared to root for the Cavaliers — not the Knicks. Kelce and his brother, retired Eagles great Jason Kelce, are from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and have been public in their support for the Cavs.
Swift’s relationship with the Eagles does not leave many clues to where her loyalty lies, either. Despite previously performing in Eagles jerseys and mentioning the team in her 2020 song “gold rush,” Swift seemingly ditched the Birds after she began to date Kelce. Since then, she has supported Kansas City.
It seems that Swift will have to correct the record on her favorite teams. Until then, a small sect of Philadelphia Swifties will likely hold out hope. The rest? They seem to have given up.