The Kansas City Chiefs are seeing a surge of young women becoming fans due to the Taylor Swift effect.
But there’s another demographic of Chiefs Kingdom that is making waves on the internet, too, while the team heads to Super Bowl 58.
The Primrose Sedalia Chiefs Cheerleaders, a group of residents at the Primrose Retirement Community in Sedalia, Missouri southeast of Kansas City, went viral during the NFL playoffs for their “Swag Surfin'” routine. A group of dancers performed choreography while sitting in chairs and others held up signs that said “Senior Swifties,” “Chiefs For The Win” and “Touchdown Kansas City!”
“I couldn’t understand the music, or the words. I didn’t care ‘cause it was for the Chiefs. So it just made it fun,” Jackie Canaan, one of the dancers, told USA TODAY Sports. During the interview, she wore a No. 87 jersey T-shirt for tight end Travis Kelce, Swift’s boyfriend.
“You really have to move. It looks, like, easy. But it’s a little tough when you’re first starting it,” Lory Moxter, another dancer who sported a red Chiefs sweatshirt during the Zoom interview, said. “And I think everybody enjoys it and we all get into it and really give it a go.”
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Connie Chevalier is the life enrichment director at the Primrose Retirement Community and leads a group of members in chair Zumba every morning. She was watching the Chiefs’ wild-card game against the Miami Dolphins and saw the pop superstar joining the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium in the dance. Chevalier turned to Google and found the “Swag Surfin'” song by F.L.Y., from which the dance originated. She decided to use it for a routine. She posted the Cheerleaders doing the dance on Facebook ahead of the divisional round and it took off.
“We’re just like flabbergasted, we don’t know how this happened to us,” Chevalier said of the video’s popularity, noting that she didn’t even know what the term “viral” meant when media started reaching out. “… We just got to be one of them lucky people that we enjoy life and we got noticed, huh?”
Residents at Primrose love to watch sports, including the Chiefs and the MLB’s Kansas City Royals. Chevalier said she took her first Zumba class about 10 years ago and she wanted to combine the fun energy of the dance exercise with the community’s love for the Chiefs.
“They’re just huge fans. They’re always watching (Chiefs games), so it was a no-brainer to pull this together for them to get pumped up and truly be cheerleaders,” she said. “… It just makes it more special for all of us to know that we’re part of it. We actually feel part of it.”
Chevalier said she is going to teach the group one more routine for the season. She is planning to release the video Thursday before the Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers in an attempt to lay another brick in their dynasty.
Last season, Chevalier taught the Cheerleaders a routine to Tech N9ne’s “Red Kingdom” when Patrick Mahomes and company marched to Super Bowl 57 and beat the Philadelphia Eagles for their second title in four years.
After a rocky start this season, many of the residents were doubtful at Kansas City’s prospects of a repeat championship. But Moxter kept the faith.
“Everybody here said, ‘Oh, I don’t think.’ I said, ‘They’re winning. They’re winning,'” she said. “And there’s no other way to go.”
Besides teaching dance to a group of the residents, Chevalier makes signs for the less mobile members of the community. She found pictures of signs that fans brought to Arrowhead Stadium and copied them on poster board. One of her favorites was, “Is Taylor Here?”
“I thought that was funny,” she said.
Canaan said that her grandkids are fans of the 12-time Grammy winner and that’s how she got hip. Chevalier said that the Cheerleaders mostly listen to “golden oldies or classic country,” but they have used Swift’s music in a few of their routines.
“She’s got some good music out there,” she said.
“Everyone really gets in the mood to do everything and it just gets everybody together,” Moxter added, “and I think it’s a fun thing for everyone.”
Chevalier, Canaan and Moxter all enjoy her music and also watching Swift and Kelce’s love story unfold.
“In the end, it’s love and if they’re in love, then oh my gosh, yeah, we’re happy for them, very happy for them,” Chevalier said. “I really do hope that she does find love and he finds love, and maybe they are gonna be the couple. Just cause they’re both superstars doesn’t really mean anything. They’re just normal people, really truly normal people. Everybody wants to be loved and to love.”
“It’s just that we hope the best for both of them and hope it works out that it is true love, really,” Moxter chimed in.
“If not, enjoy it while you got it. Enjoy one another and if it’s not meant to be permanent, that’s OK,” Canaan offered. “Have a good time, enjoy one another. We’re sure liking it.”
