Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

Earlier this week, pop superstar Taylor Swift and many of her friends celebrated her 34th birthday in New York. But as photos of her birthday celebration began to circulate on social media, there was one person notably absent from the photos of the event: her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.

For most NFL fans, this was far from a surprising turn of events. After all, it’s the middle of the season and Kelce has practice as the Chiefs prepare for a game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.

But apparently, the reason for his absence wasn’t quite so obvious to the entertainment world.

On Thursday, Entertainment Tonight got to the bottom of why Kelce missed Swift’s birthday celebration. Apparently, the outlet needed a source to inform them that NFL practices were, in fact, mandatory to attend.

The source told ET that Kelce “remains committed to playing his best and doing his best on and off the field. The team practices are critical, mandatory to attend, and something he takes very seriously. So, it’s no surprise he stayed in Kansas City ahead of this weekend’s game.”

The sports world found this report quite comical for obvious reasons.

While it’s certainly been amusing to watch the NFL media sphere scramble to learn about Swift and incorporate the pop superstar into their coverage, it’s been equally hilarious to see entertainment outlets trying to do the same thing with Kelce and the NFL. And this is a prime example.

[ET]