Michael Irvin explodes against Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark as the Chiefs take something dear from him

Over the past year-plus, Kansas City Chiefs games have received an injection of star power. Not because Kansas City, winners of consecutive Super Bowl titles, trot out Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes each weekend, but because the Chiefs have significant crossover appeal -- just ask WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark and pop sensation Taylor Swift, who has been dating Kelce since 2023 and has since appeared at 20 Chiefs games (of which Kansas City has won 17).

It's a far cry from the world of the 1990s, when the Dallas Cowboys ruled the NFL with their own broad cultural appeal and star players like Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Deion Sanders, and Michael Irvin. Many NFL icons from that time period accept the world in which we now live and where pro football has gone in the 2020s; Irvin, a legendary Dallas receiver, continues to rage against the dying of the light as the Cowboys have tumbled down America's pecking order.

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Irvin rages as Chiefs replace Cowboys as "America's Team"

Appearing on the "It Is What It Is" podcast, Irvin appeared to reject it being what it is -- the Chiefs have received America's love amidst seven seasons of success with Mahomes as their quarterback. Irvin was upset that Clark and Swift soaked up the adulation and attention during the Chiefs' 23-14 divisional round win over the Houston Texans, which saw them progress to their seventh AFC title game in as many years.

"We're going to talk about Caitlin Clark and Taylor Swift at the Kansas City Chiefs game," Irvin said. "They're trying to make that (happen). Those are two good old American girls. They're trying to make those Chiefs, they're trying to steal America's title."

America has grown tired of waiting for the Cowboys to get their act together. Dallas' last Super Bowl win came in 1995; the Cowboys have not even returned to the NFC Championship Game since then, let alone another Super Bowl. Meanwhile, the Chiefs have won the Super Bowl three times since the 2019 season; Mahomes has claimed two MVP awards, and Kelce has solidified himself as one of the best pass-catching tight ends in league history...all while the Cowboys have fallen behind the times. Dallas missed the playoffs this season with a 7-10 record and is on the hunt for a new head coach after Mike McCarthy's departure as a rare coaching free agent.

Irvin has endorsed Sanders -- now the head coach at the University of Colorado -- as the Cowboys' 10th head coach in franchise history, but team owner Jerry Jones has other candidates in mind right now. Jones, 82, is under pressure to get this hire right -- or else risk seeing the Cowboys fall deeper into the NFL's abyss.