When going back through the Twitter (or X) archive of a now-famous, once-unknown celebrity, there’s always a risk. You could unearth things like model Chrissy Teigen bullying media personality Courtney Stodden or rapper Iggy Azalea’s racist and homophobic remarks, and kick-off an apology tour. But in the case of NFL star and Taylor Swift arm candy, Travis Kelce, there didn’t seem to be any controversial skeletons in his closet—just the revelation that he once held very strong opinions about the state of gaming.
Kelce’s old Tweets started making the rounds online on November 15, with people resharing some of the funniest ones all over the internet. Many of them are full of spelling errors (he has trouble with the word “stare”), but almost all of them evoke an unbridled joy, a wide-eyed view of the world reminiscent of a Golden Retriever. I love this one, where a person (my partner, nepotism) quoted Kelce’s wonder at a “squirle” (read: squirrel) eating an entire piece of bread and pointed out that it read like one of Arthur Morgan’s diary entries in Red Dead Redemption II.
But the funniest, by far, is this tweet from January 31, 2010:“#90stweet forget Call of Dookie and Halo Gaylo, it all started back with 007 Golden Eye on the 64!!! These games just arnt the same!”
The problematic nature of “Halo Gaylo” aside (I must remind you that the 2000s were a very different time, so much so that Lizzie McGuire herself, Hilary Duff, had to star in a PSA telling people to stop using “gay” as an insult), it’s fascinating that Kelce was once reluctant to latch onto Call of Duty and Halo during what many would consider the shooters’ heydays. I say “once reluctant” because a 2022 post-game interview with the Kansas City Chiefs’ former wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster revealed that the squad’s excellent chemistry was due, in part, to Smith-Schuster, quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and Kelce all playing Call of Duty: Warzone together.
“Obviously, preseason [and] camp, but I’m going to tell you what got us the chemistry that we needed this game. I think it was Friday night…we were playing Call of Duty: Warzone together. We played three games and we won three games back-to-back,” Smith-Schuster said.
He didn’t credit GoldenEye 007 for their excellent chemistry, now did he? Take that, 2010-era Kelce, guess you finally came around to the newer shooters, huh? If you ever get bored on T.Swift’s tour bus, I’ll join you for a few Warzone rounds.
