Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are apparently ready to take their relationship to the next level — the NFL playoffs. After a regular season full of nothing but good times the postseason is approaching and there is no going back. The bright lights are about to get brighter and Swifties are about to learn about single-elimination and perhaps even the emptiness that comes with an early playoff exit.

The point is, there’s going to be a lot of growing up over the next few weeks for all of us. And for some of us that might even mean getting engaged. Or maybe we’re already engaged. It’s hard to say, but the rumor mill is HOT.

While perusing Yahoo! this morning, completely unaware of how algorithms might influence the content I was seeing, I saw a story from Country Living titled, “A Source Claimed Travis Kelce Asked Taylor Swift’s Dad for His Blessing to Propose.” That’s massive news! Does it matter that the inspiration for the article appears to be a Page Six story from mid-December? No.

In fact, if we go back to mid-December there’s another story about Travis and Taylor on Perez Hilton which mentions something said on a podcast that further points to a possible engagement.

On DeuxMoi’s Deux U podcast this week, an anonymous tip from a listener claimed their sister-in-law attended the Miracle in Kansas City Christmas pop-up and heard Travis’ cousin ask if he was purchasing an engagement ring soon. To which the Kansas City Chiefs tight end allegedly responded:

Travis Kelce’s cousin was overheard by an anonymous tipster’s sister-in-law. I’m not sure what else we need to go on. There are solid sources and then there’s something someone’s sister-in-law overheard someone’s cousin ask about at a merch drop.

The thing is, all this happened before the holidays. And you don’t ask for permission to marry someone right before the holidays unless you’re going to propose during the holidays. And you certainly don’t tell your cousin you’ve already got that down if you really don’t already got that down.

Basically, we should all be operating under the assumption that Taylor [Swift] and Travis [Kelce] are already engaged. They are celebrities dating in the public eye after all. Heck, they kissed at midnight on New Year’s Eve. That’s as good as married in 2024. Hopefully, the Kansas City Chiefs postseason run doesn’t affect the wedding planning.