Pope Francis and Taylor Swift altered the 2015 NFL schedule
Taylor Swift left the NFL with less blank space when the league tried to set its schedule for the upcoming season.
Some scheduling conflicts are bound to crop up when trying to cram 256 games into a 17-week span. This year, that meant factoring in three concerts by the country-turned-pop star, as well as a surprise September visit to Philadelphia from Pope Francis, according to Sports Illustrated's Peter King. Per King, Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput asked the league to keep the Eagles out of the city on the day of the pope's visit, and Howard Katz, who led the league's scheduling efforts, obliged.
"The pope did influence the NFL schedule," Katz told SI. "My name may be Katz, but I wasn’t taking any chances."
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