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An NFL x Taylor Swift drinking game in the Buffalo airport led to a flight being delayed after one passenger threw up on the plane.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who was there and sharing posts about it on X (formerly known as Twitter), it all started as an innocent drinking game in the airport on Sunday night.
Darlington shared a video from the Buffalo airport bar at 10:35 pm on Sunday night saying they were drinking every time Taylor Swift was shown on the Sunday Night Football broadcast.
He wrote “Delayed out of Buffalo’s airport, but we’re making the most of it. We’re drinking for every time they show Taylor Swift — and I’m buying shots for the bar every 5th time they show her. Let’s go!”
Delayed out of Buffalo’s airport, but we’re making the most of it. We’re drinking for every time they show Taylor Swift — and I’m buying shots for the bar every 5th time they show her. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/Ws3b6niz9Q
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) October 2, 2023
Airport bars can get rowdy on Sundays during the NFL season. Having myself traveled extensively on NFL Sundays in the past, there is nothing surprising about this kind of camaraderie and behavior at an airport bar on a Sunday.
NFL x Taylor Swift Drinking Game Goes Wrong
However, what happened next was unfortunate for all of the parties involved.
Jeff Darlington offered another update 14 minutes after sharing the video. In the update he revealed his flight was now delayed because the game got out of control.
Darlington wrote “Annnd we’re delayed again because a guy puked when he boarded the plane. Not kidding. My bad?”
ESPN’s Tampa Bay reporter, Jenna Laine, joked “Jeff…what have you done?!”
Sunday Night Football was HUGE for NBC with Taylor Swift at the game. Early on Monday, TMZ reported the SNF ratings were down from Taylor’s previous appearance but NBC Sports issued a correction later in the day.
NBC reported that the Chiefs-Jets game averaged 27 million viewers and was the most-watched Sunday show on NBC since Super Bowl LVII. The enormous leap in ratings from TMZ’s reported 20.31 million to NBC’s reported 27+ million viewers was in large part attributed to Peacock streaming numbers which TMZ likely would not have had access to.
Let this serve as a reminder to always drink responsibly, especially when drinking in public. It is also worth wondering why the parties were served to the point of getting sick and not cut off.