Athletes as "The Life of a Showgirl" Tracks
- Ava Heaton
- Oct 7
- 6 min read
If you haven't heard The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift yet, you're missing out on great music to improve your day, as well as emotional breakdowns over athletes and their parallels with certain songs. Let's take a look at some of the athletes that represent each song on The Life of a Showgirl!
The Fate of Ophelia: Brad Marchand
After spending 16 seasons with the Boston Bruins, it was time for a change of scenery for Brad Marchand. At the trade deadline on March 7th this season, the forward was traded to the Florida Panthers and went on to win the Stanley Cup with them later on in June. The line "Don't care where the hell you been 'cause now you're mine" is incredibly fitting for the situation, so The Fate of Ophelia was the perfect song for Marchand. Florida fans may not have looked at Marchand fondly when he was playing their team in Boston, but now that he's donning their jersey, they don't care who he is - just that he can score!
Elizabeth Taylor: Cody Bellinger
While Bellinger is now a New York Yankee, he was a Los Angeles Dodger before that, making the line "Be my NY when Hollywood hates me, you're only as hot as your last hit, baby," all too fitting. Plus, having a "hit" reference as a baseball player is perfect for Bellinger's .272 2025 regular season batting average. Switching from one of baseball's biggest teams to one of baseball's other biggest teams is certainly no small feat and leaves little room for adjustment or error with your new club, so a song about having your humanity blurred thanks to a life in the spotlight certainly seems fitting for this star outfielder.
Opalite: Jason Kelce
Opalite is the fun bop of this album and no one loves an upbeat, dancing song more than Jason Kelce. We can totally envision him breaking it down to "You were dancing through the lightning strikes, sleepless in the onyx night." The lyric "Oh, my lord never made no one like you before," also makes us think of how in love he is with his wife, Kylie. They're certainly couple goals, and while not exactly a slow song, we still think that the pair would have a fun time jamming this song.
Father Figure: Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky
Widely regarded as the best NHL player of all time, Wayne Gretzky grew up idolizing Gordie Howe. The line "I was your father figure, you pulled the wrong trigger, this empire belongs to me," Is perfect because Howe stepped in as a mentor for him, but as Gretzky approached his goal scoring record, he elected not to follow him so he could be there when the record was broken. This was because his WHA goals were not counted in the NHL record book, so he didn't believe Gretzky's record to be legitimate. While they don't exactly have an enemies to lovers storyline going on, they still seem to have crossed one another despite Gretzky's admiration of Howe growing up. This makes Father Figure perfect for the two of them (perhaps somewhat unfortunately).
Eldest Daughter: Venus Williams
Although she's now older, Venus has lived in her sister Serena's shadow for most of her career. Admirably, however, she never let it deter her from the sport and her love for it, and she has not lived and attempted to profit off her sister's fame and career. The line "I'm never gonna let you down, I'm never gonna leave you out," is representative of the perspective of always wanting to do more and prove yourself, which is a sentiment Venus knows well.
Ruin the Friendship: Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad
The iconic duo that was "Kreidbanejad" was split up this offseason when Chris Kreider was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. (We still think that Zibanejad misses his bestie!) This was perhaps the biggest bromance split up in New York since Henrik Lundqvist and Mats Zuccarello back in 2018, so "Goodbye, and we'll never know why," is the best line to sum up the pairs separation. We hope they catch up and have a gossip session over coffee the next time that the Rangers and Ducks meet!
Actually Romantic: Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets
Actually Romantic is the petty anthem of the album, and Aaron Rodgers has had a lot of controversy surrounding him. When Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Jets during week one of NFL season this year, Rodgers said “I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets.” Following these comments, though, many Jets fans were upset as they felt as if the organization and the fans had all moved on from Rodgers and are perfectly happy with new quarterback Justin Fields. "It's actually sweet all the time you've spent on me, it's honestly wild all the effort you've put in," sums up how Jets fans felt pretty well. Rodgers might be playing for the Steelers now, but it looks like he's always going to have the Jets on his mind, and that, yes, actually, we are "always talking about her".
Wi$h Li$t: Jalen Brunson
When it came time for Jalen Brunson to sign a new contract, Knicks fans worried as his performance indicated he deserved a massive pay raise. However, Brunson signed a four-year extension worth $156.5 million when he could have made way more than that if he had gone to another team. He clearly wanted to be a Knick and he wanted the team to have flexibility to build around him, so "Boss up, settle down got a wish list, I just want you" summarizes his perspective of the situation perfectly. He just wants to play in New York, and for the team friendly contract he took, we think he more than deserves what's on his wish list!
Wood: Travis Kelce
This feels like cheating, but if you've heard the song it feels wrong to give it to anyone else. Travis was clearly the muse for this track because he's really... superstitious? Yeah, we'll go with that. Obviously.
CANCELLED!: Jacob Trouba
"You thought it would be okay, at first the situation could be saved of course," was likely what Jacob Trouba was feeling when there were trade rumors swirling for the entirety of the 2024 offseason, even if he ended up staying a New York Ranger to start the season. This sense of security was short lived, however, as he would be traded that December to the Anaheim Ducks. The fans' perception of him was damaged and it's safe to say many of them viewed him as Cancelled. We do hope that Trouba "knows who his friends are", though, because the drama surrounding this trade cemented him as enemy number one for many Rangers and hockey fans alike.
Honey: Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall
The Woodhalls took the world by storm during the 2024 Paris Olympics as everyone was in awe of the love that they exuded. With many people editing the couple to another Taylor Swift song, The Alchemy, they just had to be on this list. The track Honey is a sweet love song about finding your person and the lyric "You can call me "honey" if you want because I'm the one you want," just represents the Woodhalls so well. We love love, and we especially love it when it is as authentic and sweet as the Woodhalls' is.
The Life of a Showgirl (feat. Sabrina Carpenter): Simone Biles
Gymnastics as a sport is all about being "perfect" and putting on a show, but for many gymnasts the glamour of the sparkly leotards and dazzling floor routines are overshadowed by mental health struggles. No one has spoken about this topic more than Simone Biles: she exudes what it means to be a "showgirl", and like the song, she acknowledges the struggles that come with it. She's an icon when it comes to gymnastics and women's sports as a whole, and she knows the spotlight and the burden that comes with it better than anyone else.
Edited by Caitlyn Wagner
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