The running back said the singer “made the game bigger” by attracting her own fans to the Super Bowl
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Saquon Barkley doesn’t support any of the Taylor Swift hate at the Super Bowl.
In an interview on The Howard Stern Show, the Philadelphia Eagles’ running back — who helped bring his team to its second-ever Super Bowl victory — said he was disappointed by the crowd booing Taylor Swift at the big game.
“I remember that they showed her on the jumbotron and she got booed. I don’t get it. I don’t get why she was getting hate there,” he told Stern, who agreed.
Barkley added that Swift diversified the crowd and audience by drawing her massive fanbase to the Super Bowl.
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And more simply, Barkley said, Swift was there admirably supporting her partner, Travis Kelce — the Kansas City Chiefs’ running back.
“She’s made the game bigger,” Barkley noted, adding, “We’re trying to expand the game and you know, her being a part of it’s only helping that.”
The big game on Sunday, Feb. 9 saw the Philadelphia Eagles lead the Kansas City Chiefs — who won the previous two Super Bowls in 2023 and 2024 — into halftime scoreless before securing a 40-22 win.
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Ahead of his first Super Bowl — which coincidentally fell on Barkley’s 28th birthday — the running back reflected on his years in professional football. His younger self would be “super proud” of how far he’s gotten, he told PEOPLE — Barkley overcame a number of obstacles, and even considered quitting when he was young.
“I still remember that conversation I had with my dad when I was younger and when I almost quit,” Barkley told PEOPLE. “He said, ‘You quit one thing in life, you’re going to be a quitter for the rest of your life.’ And that’s what always stuck with me.”
