What is Swag Surfin? Everything to know about Chiefs’ viral dance celebration as Taylor Swift, Donna Kelce participate

There are plenty of traditions in which Chiefs fans engage during game days at Arrowhead Stadium, but a new one has emerged as the team tries to make a second consecutive Super Bowl run.

The new song and dance celebration was on full display Saturday at the end of Kansas City’s 26-7 domination of the Dolphins.

The Chiefs’ game-day staff began to play the song “Swag Surfin” by the Fast Life Yungstaz (also known as F.L.Y.). That caused the stadium to break out into one of the biggest dance parties the NFL has seen this season.

Involved in this celebration were pop star Taylor Swift, who was on hand to see her boyfriend Travis Kelce play, and the tight end’s mother, Donna Kelce. They were seen in their luxury suite swaying back and forth as the music blared over the public address system at Arrowhead Stadium.

But what is the Chiefs’ “Swag Surfin” celebration and how did it come to be? Here’s everything to know about the song that Kansas City is hoping it gets to play on repeat en route to a Super Bowl.

What is Swag Surfin?

“Swag Surfin” is a song that was released by the Fast Life Yungstaz (or F.L.Y.) as part of their debut album “Jamboree” in 2009. The song became a hit, peaking at No. 62 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and has since been sampled and remixed by the likes of Beyonce and Lil Wayne.

The song has enjoyed a bit of a cultural renaissance in recent years as various sports teams have adopted it as an anthem. Notably, the WNBA’s Washington Mystics adopted it as their unofficial anthem during their 2019 championship run, per Andscape.

NFL teams have used it in the past as well. The Bears included it as part of their “Club Dub” celebrations under Matt Nagy in 2018 and 2019, per NBC Sports Chicago. That led other teams like the Saints to play the song as well.

Now, the Chiefs are bringing the song more relevance five years later. And much like the other teams that have adopted that anthem, its relevance began naturally.

How ‘Swag Surfin’ became a Chiefs celebration

Kansas City’s “Swag Surfin” celebration began thanks to a message that linebacker Willie Gay passed to a cameraperson on the sidelines during the Chiefs’ 25-17 win over the Bengals in Week 17.

“Pass the word up and tell them to play Swag Surfin,” Gay said. “We really need that.”

The employee complied and soon enough, the public address system at Arrowhead Stadium had “Swag Surfin” blaring from the speakers. That led to a dance party on the sidelines, led by Gay but also featuring some moves from Travis Kelce and defensive end Charles Omenihu.

Chiefs fans noted the players dancing and some joined in. That included Taylor Swift, who saw Kelce making moves and joyously decided to join in from her luxury suite.

Kelce wasn’t surprised that the dance caught on quickly. As he detailed on his “New Heights” podcast, “Swag Surfin” had been featured on one of the Chiefs’ in-stadium highlight-reel videos looking to hype up the crowd before big moments.

“It’s a classic man,” Kelce said. “I really want to say since I’ve been here, it’s been a huge fourth quarter, big-time moment, big-time like drive in the game for our defense, they play a highlight video that has fSwag surf’ on it as a song and it gets everybody hyped.”

So, while the Chiefs vs. Dolphins game was Kansas City’s first home contest since the team fully broke into a dance against the Bengals, it’s little surprise that the song was embraced enthusiastically by the crowd. And certainly, it seems like fans worked hard to familiarize themselves with the song and dance.

How to swag surf

Of course, the process of “Swag Surfin” is simple enough. That’s part of what makes it a great full-stadium dance.

The dance consists of the participant lunging alternatively (in both a smooth and vigorous fashion) to the right and left along with the beat of the song. That continues throughout the number.

Depending on the version of the dance one is doing, one can either have their arms around the other participants dancing — which is common, especially at sporting events — or one can use their arms to compliment the swaying motion being performed with the lower body.

The result of the dance ends up creating a wave-like motion within the crowd as all involved in the dance move back and forth.

Swag Surfin video

And for those visual learners out there, the “Swag Surfin” dance is featured in the music video for that song, as one would expect. You can check that out below for a full tutorial.