Taylor Swift is a good luck charm for soccer team hosting Travis Kelce's 1st game in Brazil

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SAO PAULO (AP) — Taylor Swift is very likely not aware of it, but she's considered a good luck charm for the Brazilian soccer team hosting Friday's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

The unlikely connection between the pop superstar — whose fiancé is Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce — and one of the most popular clubs in soccer-mad Brazil lies in the release date of her albums dating to 2006. Corinthians has gone unbeaten in all but one game played right before each album release since then and all but one right after.

It all started as a joke about five years ago, but it has developed into a superstition for local fans.

Until last year, Corinthians won 13 matches and drew seven in such instances. Some were against bitter rival Palmeiras and Brazilian social media was flooded with memes and montages of Swift wearing black and white — Corinthians' colors.

Many Corinthians fans could have tossed their expectations after their team lost both the match prior to the release of “The Tortured Poets Department” and the one following. But the NFL game in Sao Paulo, which could draw Swift to NeoQuimica Arena, has kept the Swiftie vibe alive among many local supporters.

“I laughed at first, but there’s more coincidences. Taylor’s first contract was signed on Sept. 1, that’s the same day Corinthians was founded in 1910,” said Rebeca Gois, 32, a marketing writer who lives near the stadium and is a Swift fan. “It has become a thing. Whenever there’s a new album, we have a double joy; new Taylor songs and Corinthians unbeaten before and after that.”

That long run has encouraged Corinthians fans to think of the singer as an honorary supporter. Some have worn Swift costumes during games.

Gavioes da Fiel, a Corinthians-linked samba school that parades in Sao Paulo's Carnival, jokingly invited Swift to join them in the festivities in 2022.

Swift was in Brazil in 2012 to promote her album “Red” and then in 2023 with six concerts in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo during the Eras Tour. She has yet to appear at Corinthians stadium.

Nataly Nascimento, a hardcore Corinthians Swiftie, said the trend got a boost after Swift had all her three concerts in Sao Paulo at the Allianz Parque, the stadium of their archrival Palmeiras.

“People started to look for that connection to tease Palmeiras fans. And then Corinthians fans started finding those links,” said Nascimento, a 25-year-old teacher who lives in Brazil's Northeast and won't attend. “But there's something bigger. In the same way that Corinthians fans are much more passionate about their club, Swifties feel that about Taylor. It is mystical.”

Asked whether Corinthians fans can expect the connection to return after the two defeats last year, Nascimento said fans have adapted their narrative since.

“Some said it was all over, but we didn't let her go. What actually happened was that we were doing so badly last year that not even Taylor could save us,” she said.

Swift's next album, “The Life of a Show Girl,” will be released on Oct. 3. Corinthians, currently lagging in the 12th position of the Brazilian league with 26 points after 22 matches, will take on Southern rival Internacional two days prior to the launch and then host Sao Paulo countryside team one day after the release.

Fans like lawyer Sidney Abreu, 45, couldn't care less about the NFL and Swift's music, but he will be watching part of Friday's game in the hopes the singer attends so the superstition can be revamped with her presence at the stadium.

“As long as Corinthians wins those matches, she can come here and release her albums whenever she likes,” he said.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer