Travis Kelce: Chiefs camp offers welcomed ‘sanctuary’ after closely watched wedding to Taylor Swift

(AP) — Travis Kelce likes to call training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs his “sanctuary,” whether that be the quiet, hour-long drive north to Missouri Western State University or the solitude that he finds while living in college dorms for a month. Such refuge was probably never more welcome than on the heels of this past summer. It was just over a month ago that Kelce exchanged vows with Taylor Swift in a star-studded wedding that tied together one of the best tight ends in NFL history with the biggest pop star on the planet.

At the intimate gathering in cavernous Madison Square Garden, Adam Sandler served as the surprise officiant, Stevie Nicks performed to a crowd of sports and entertainment icons, and fans lined the New York City sidewalks outside the historic venue hoping to catch a glimpse of it all. “The wedding was the best night of my life,” Kelce said Wednesday, speaking for the first time at camp. “I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and had fun with us.

That’s about all I got for that night. It was a crazy night.” The guest list included actors Bradley Cooper, Zoë Kravitz, Hugh Grant and Ethan Hawke; models Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss; comic Chris Rock; film director Steven Spielberg; and plenty of NFL players, including retired quarterback Tom Brady and several of Kelce’s teammates with the Chiefs, like his best friend and quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. The Swift-Kelce relationship began with his failed attempt at giving her a friendship ring at a concert.

Kelce invited Swift to watch him play at Arrowhead Stadium, she took him up on the offer, and the rest of their courtship has been a celebrity fairytale. Right down to the nuptials at Madison Square Garden, which has always captured Kelce’s imagination, and where Swift has played to plenty of sold-out shows; she also turned up there to watch the Knicks play the Spurs in the NBA Finals in June. “I always told myself I’d go for a playoff game when the Knicks were rocking, and my wife went when I was stuck in minicamp,” Kelce said with a wry smile.

“It was kind of cool to live out my childhood dream to be in that venue. I can’t thank the owners of MSG enough for allowing us the opportunity to do that, knowing we wanted a private event.” Besides the wedding, Kelce has been busy pursuing several business opportunities since the end of last season, including his dec…