Haley Kalil Says She’s a Swiftie Who Might Root Against Travis Kelce (Exclusive)

Haley Kalil’s 23 million followers know she loves Taylor Swift, and now the content creator is ready to go on the record about it.

“I’m a Swiftie — I’m gonna out myself,” the 33-year-old influencer, who’s known as Haleyy Baylee online, joked to PEOPLE in her hotel room in São Paulo, Brazil, as she prepared to live stream from the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs game on Sept. 5, marking YouTube’s first-ever live NFL game. “I’ve loved Taylor for as long as she’s made music. She’s been writing music since I’ve been dating boys.”

Although Swift, 35, didn’t attend her fiancé Travis Kelce’s international game, and hasn’t been as visible at NFL games so far this season, the energy that Swift has injected into the sport is palpable. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has credited her for boosting female viewership, and YouTube says “sports content uploads by women creators have grown over 40% year-on-year.”

“[Swift] just got women to see that this is a really fun sport to participate in,” Kalil says. “And it’s not a sport that’s only for men. That was just such a stereotype for the longest time.”

“Growing up with football,” Kalil adds, “I got to see like women at the tailgates — my stepmom cooks the barbecue for the tailgates. So I got to see very quickly that this is not just a men’s sport and there’s so many fun things you can do.” 

For Kalil, the fun now includes anticipating Swift’s reactions to Kelce’s plays. 

“It’s almost like you get a reality show of Taylor without the show because you get to see her on camera at these NFL games, and we just like to see her happy,” says Kalil. “Swifties just want to see her happy. To see her happy and with somebody that supports her like Travis and, you know, on that New Heights podcast, we were just all thrilled to see her glowing and feel so at home and feel so a part of the sport too.”

Kalil — whose online content ranges from skits to red carpet interviews — credits her father with helping her feel part of the sport. 

“My father is a Minnesota Vikings fan,” she says. “Born and raised in Minnesota, so he bleeds purple and gold. There was no other team I could cheer for. If I ever cheer for the Packers, I would be disowned as a family member. My dad kind of installed in me that love for football at a very young age.”

That means that Kalil would have to pick a side in a face off between the Chiefs and Vikings. 

“I love you, Taylor, but I would cheer against Travis if they were going to play the Minnesota Vikings,” she says. “I hope that the Minnesota Vikings make it to the Super Bowl because we’ve been to four of them and we’ve lost all of them. And I just want my father to see a Minnesota Vikings win at a Super Bowl.” 

Between capturing content with fans in Brazil, Kalil joined football-player-turned-YouTuber Deestroying, 28, to host YouTube’s pregame show, and watched Grammy-winning superstar Karol G’s halftime show from the sidelines. It was all part of a spectacle that had been 100 days in the making at YouTube, which streamed the game for free and drew nearly 20 million viewers from 230 countries and territories around the globe, according to Google.

To make their live game day programming a uniquely YouTube experience, Angela Courtin — YouTube’s vice president of sports and entertainment marketing — and her team brought together legendary NFL broadcaster Rich Eisen, former NFL star Cam Newton and creators like Kalil. 

“The great thing about partnering with the NFL is they really do scaffold you with amazing production partners,” says Courtin. “We’ve partnered with NBC Sports to deliver the game, and NFL Media to deliver all the shoulder content, pregame, halftime, post-game. So we didn’t have to do it completely on our own, but we definitely had to build a game that would look and feel like YouTube.” 

Courtin’s childhood as a Dallas Cowboys fan helped her with the assignment.  

“As a child, Sundays were revered in my household,” she says. “I knew what passion of the sport really felt like, both from the in-home experience, to the in-stadium experience, to the on-air experience. I really did feel like it was the gig of a lifetime to produce an NFL game for YouTube.”

Describing the convergence of football, music, fashion and food online as part of an “exciting moment in sports,” Courtin sees YouTube’s presence at games growing in the years to come. 

“There is this game around the game, and I do think that it’s not just tip off or the final buzzer that determines fandom,” she says. “There is community, conversation and culture all happening around any sport, and it’s thriving on YouTube. Creators are excited about what the fits are. They’re excited about calling the traditional play-by-play and deep analysis. They’re interested in fantasy, they’re interested in WAGs. Who knew that we would be caring as much about this? Thankfully, Taylor Swift just brought a whole new lens and fan to the game.”