LAS VEGAS — With megastar Taylor Swift riding shotgun, has any football player ever taken a wilder ride on the road to the Super Bowl than Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce?

“Buckle up!” Kelce declared, with the gleam in the eyes of a man so crazy in love he can’t keep it a secret.

Here’s my theory and I’m sticking to it: The NFL has never seen a more odd power couple than Kelce and Swift. Like it or not, their romance is now bigger than the biggest game on America’s sports calendar. Has the league ever witnessed a bigger upset than this big, cuddly grizzly bear of a player winning the heart of Ms. Shake It Off?

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“You ask me: Am I surprised Travis is dating the most famous singer in the world? And I’m here to tell you: I’m not surprised at all,” said Derek Wolfe, the former Broncos defensive tackle who has been besties with Kelce since they entered the University of Cincinnati together in 2008.

“Taylor Swift is probably so happy she doesn’t know what to do with herself. I mean, have you seen this guy? He’s 6-foot-5. A handsome man. Pure greatness. And he’s not a (knucklehead). For the first time in her life, if what I read is correct, Taylor has a real man instead of a (knucklehead). If you ask me, she’s damn lucky to have Travis Kelce.”

The NFL doesn’t need Roman numerals to make the 58th version of a national sports holiday seem even bigger. This is Super Bowl Tay Tay.

I’ve heard angry, bitter men complain that Swift and Kelce are bad for football. Well, maybe for the San Francisco 49ers, who have no chance against destiny, because this has become more than a football game. It’s a love story, baby, just say: Yes!

Everybody from David Letterman to Donald Trump is obsessed with the made-for-TV football romance. Can you blame ’em? Combining pop music with football, Tay and Trav are a powerful mix of the most addictive sources of American culture this side of cheeseburger and fries.

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Yes, Kelce has heard the naysayers that their relationship is a savvy marketing ploy rather than true romance. And he doesn’t give a hoot.

“Everybody is subject to their own opinion on everything,” Kelce replied, when I inquired about those that believe this love story is a work of fiction. “But I think it has only given me energy. I’m fortunate to be in the position I am in my life … You know what? I’d be silly to find any negativity in any of this … She has played in more stadiums than I have.”

But the internet being what it is, the nasty gossip won’t stop. At the international media circus that is Super Bowl week, a journalist from Germany interrupted the usual over-the-top football hype to ask Chiefs coach Andy Reid to address the theory that the NFL scripted the relationship between Swift and Kelce to pump up television ratings and influence the 2024 presidential election.

“Hmm,” replied Reid, refusing to catch the political football. “That’s way out of my league. Very similar to me speaking German.”

Well, as difficult as it might be for some loyal readers to believe, there is one thing I know less about than sports. And that’s politics. So I won’t even pretend to tell you how to vote. But I can tell you how to bet the Super Bowl.

At midseason, about the time the Broncos broke a 16-game losing streak to the slumping Chiefs, I thought you could stick a fork in them as championship contenders and watch the Chiefs fall apart like tender K.C. barbecue.

And Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young, who knows a thing or two about winning the Super Bowl, embraced my theory, although he expressed it much more eloquently than I ever could during an interview on “This is Football” for Omaha Productions.

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“People are going to think this is goofball. Taylor Swift coming to the games, dating Travis, put a huge burden on the team. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It was just the nature of the whole thing. It was a distraction,” Young said.

But, like all championship teams, Kansas City not only dealt with the adversity, but grew stronger from Swift making herself at home in Chiefs Kingdom.

“Toward the end of the season, the Chiefs took ownership of that distraction,” Young said, “until it’s now a super power.”

Amen, brother.

The Niners are still 2-point favorites with the bookies here in Vegas.

But lay those points and wager against the Chiefs?

That’s a sucker bet.

Every Swiftie knows: Tay Tay is a force of nature that can’t be beat.

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift walk together after an AFC Championship NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Baltimore. The Kansas City Chiefs won 17-10. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Julio Cortez

Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe (95) and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) pose for a picture Sunday, Nov. 15, 2015, after a 29-13 Chiefs win. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Jack Dempsey