Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce brought back a familiar look as he arrived at Arrowhead Stadium for the team’s preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams on August 15.
Just three days after Kelce spoke to reporters at training camp with his signature full beard, the 36-year-old showed up for Saturday’s game with the beard gone and his “El Travador” mustache taking center stage.
Kelce completed his game-day look with a black-and-tan shorts set, black Jordans, and black sunglasses.
The facial hair change comes after Chiefs fans spent much of training camp waiting for Kelce to return to the mustache he has regularly worn during previous camps.
Travis Kelce Brings ‘El Travador’ Back to Arrowhead Stadium
Kelce reported to training camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, with both a beard and mustache, which quickly caught the attention of fans used to seeing him shave down to his familiar camp look.
“Did he forget how last season went when he didn’t shave?” one fan wrote on social media.
Kelce eventually ditched the beard, leaving behind the mustache fans have associated with his “El Travador” alter ego since 2021. He also freshened up his buzz cut, shaving the sides and trimming the top, according to InStyle.
The Chiefs celebrated the return on social media.
“It’s not training camp without El Travador,” the team wrote.
Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast with his brother, Jason Kelce, also marked the occasion, writing, “El Travador has returned.”
The look has taken on additional meaning for some Chiefs fans after Kelce didn’t bring it back for training camp last season.
Chiefs fan Jordan Johnson, known as @SwiftieinKC on social media, joked in a TikTok that its return could be a good sign for Kansas City.
“This is not Travis Kelce. This is El Travador,” Johnson said. “And this also means the Chiefs are going to win the Super Bowl this year. I don’t make the rules, I just tell you all about ’em.”
Johnson later acknowledged that the mustache has become something of a superstition for her and other fans.
“I know this did not start out as a superstitious thing but it may have become one, for me and other Chiefs fans at least,” she said, adding that having El Travador back “absolutely gives me hope.”
Travis Kelce Previously Revealed the Mustache’s Taylor Swift Connection
Kelce’s mustache also connects to his relationship with Taylor Swift, whom he married on July 3.
During an October 2023 Chiefs press conference, Kelce revealed that he had the mustache when he first met Swift.
“I’ll tell you what, that ‘stache and the 87 jersey was pretty iconic there for a bit,” Kelce said. “I had it when I met Taylor for the first time.”
Kelce and Swift later married at Madison Square Garden in front of an estimated 1,000 guests.
The tight end spoke publicly about the wedding during his August 12 press conference at Chiefs training camp.
“It was a fun offseason, man,” Kelce told reporters. “Wedding was the best night of my life, and I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us. And, yeah, that’s about all I really got from that night. It was a crazy night. It was full of a lot of celebration, but it’s football, baby.”
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid also joked after the wedding that Kelce had “stayed in shape” by doing “a lot of dancing at his wedding.”
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