Anyway, the best joke in the whole affair was a little mean and a little sad.
Speaking of wounded dudes, a bunch of guys watched in horror this fall as Taylor Swift took over football. Her romance with Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs (“Was it a stunt? Was it love? Is there a difference?” Louisa Thomas asked) united the two biggest brands in America. There were lots of good jokes about a new cohort of fans trying to make sense of the game; about little kids waiting to see their favorite player, Taylor Swift; and about football fans suddenly feeling a bit defensive about all the time they had devoted to the serious, adult, not-at-all-weird business of fantasy football. Maybe rooting madly for a sports team wasn’t that different from obsessing over a pop star? Best not to dwell on it. Anyway, the best joke in the whole affair was a little mean and a little sad. It came from the actor Katja Herbers, who wrote, “I wish Taylor Swift was in love with a climate scientist.” Maybe next year. ♦