Shaquille O’Neal fulfills his goal of ‘finally’ meeting Taylor Swift at Super Bowl

Shaquille O’Neal had the opportunity to accomplish one of his goals at this year’s Super Bowl: meeting Taylor Swift.

The 51-year-old former NBA star took to Instagram on 11 February to share the snap he took with Swift, after she attended the Super Bowl to support her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. O’Neal post also came days after he told Page Six that one of his goals was to “shake hands” and “take a picture” with Swift.

In the Instagram snap, O’Neal could be posing alongside the “Anti-Hero” singer and businessman Jamie Salter. He also took to the caption to reveal that he and Salter gave Swift a present during the Super Bowl, which saw the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers as the game went into overtime.

“Finally met @taylorswift me and @jamiejsalter gifted her a Nfl judith leiber bag,” O’Neal wrote.

Meanwhile, Salter also shared a separate photo of himself and Swift on Instagram, and mentioned the gift he got her. “Finally met @taylorswift, hope you love the @judithleiberny bag. Go KC,” he wrote.

During his annual Super Bowl party, Shaq’s Fun House, on 9 February, the former Los Angeles Lakers player first revealed to Page Six that he would “love” to meet the Grammy-Award winner.

“If I see Taylor Swift and get to shake her hand, take a picture, I’ll be good,” he said, before noting to the publication that after he did a Google search, he appeared to realise that he and Swift hadn’t met before.

He went on to gush over the “Blank Space” singer’s career and success, continuing: “She’s a fabulous person. I’m happy for her. I’m proud of her. She’s done a lot. She’s definitely a cultural icon. I just want to shake the hand of greatness.”

On 11 February, Swift first arrived at Allegiant Stadium – alongside Ice Spice, Blake Lively, and her mother, Andrea Swift – after a lengthy flight from Tokyo, Japan, where she spent the last four nights performing her Eras Tour. For the game, Swift wore black jeans, a black top, her signature red lipstick, and a red jacket slung over her shoulder, in honour of the Chiefs’ red uniforms. Her accessory also has a deeper meaning, as Swift wore a necklace with the number “87” around her neck, a tribute to Kelce’s team number.

During the game, Swift was also crushed by her crowd of friends in a group hug, which was in celebration of the Chiefs winning the Super Bowl. In videos shared on X, she was seen holding hands and jumping with Lively in their suite. As the entire row joined in on the jumping, Swift nearly got knocked down by her peers, before she shared a group hug with her pals. Another clip also showed Swift’s friend, Lana Del Rey, getting knocked over, as the suite erupted in applause and cheers.

After the Chiefs scored a touchdown and won the game, Swift made her way to the field and shared a romcom-worthy kiss with her boyfriend. After Kelce stood up to accept the trophy and cheer along with the crowd, he joined his mother, Donna Kelce, and Swift back on the field.

“Come here, girl,” Kelce could be heard telling the “Cruel Summer” singer, before enveloping her in a huge hug and kiss.