MIAMI — On Saturday night, Austin Swift delivered a handwritten note from his sister, Taylor Swift, to Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy seated in the VIP section of the Eras Tour floor.
Austin told Portnoy, “Hey, my mom wants to meet you.”
Andrea Swift came over and hugged him, almost bringing the entrepreneur and internet personality to tears. In a video shared to Instagram, Portnoy recaps the core-memory moment.
“It was spectacular,” he said in a reel recapping the show, “and I should be on cloud nine, but this girl kind of went viral recently trashing me, and being like, ‘I’m a fake Swiftie. Swifties should hate this guy. More importantly, Taylor’s camp hates Dave.'”
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The viral TikTok post he’s referring to came from fan @thatserynsworld and garnered about 50,000 likes. That account is now private. Portnoy shared a portion of the video on Instagram and confessed her message upset him. He’s been an ardent supporter of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Swift endorsed Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris in September.
“I’m gonna give her a free pass,” he said. “For all Swifties, let’s just practice love.”
Portnoy explained how Austin Swift handed him a handwritten note from the superstar. She penned Portnoy’s name on the white envelope and drew a shining star. The other side included a turquoise “13” wax stamp.
“I’m so happy to have you at the show tonight!” Swift wrote on the card stock. “I wanted to say thank you for always being so supportive, so loyal and for having my back when a lot of people didn’t. I hope you have a blast tonight!! Love, Taylor.” Although he didn’t meet her, he met her mom and brother.
Dave’s Eras jacket returns to Miami
The Miami concert was Portnoy’s second show. He went to the Eras Tour concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on May 26, 2023.
Before that show, the he purchased a custom-made jacket on eBay for $200. He wore the gray denim to the show and passed it on to a fan to wear on May 27, 2023. That fan passed it on and so on. A Swiftie-hood of the traveling jacket was born as fans, one-by-one, handed it off to someone attending the succeeding show.
The coat traveled to the remaining 2023 concerts across America, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. During the two-month winter break, fans mailed the bejeweled coat to Tokyo, where it momentarily got stuck in customs. And then through Swifties, the bedazzled button-up made it’s way to Australia and Europe. Swifties took it to Corneliusgasse in Vienna after three Eras Tour shows were canceled due to a thwarted terrorist plot.
“I had absolutely no idea what was going to become of it,” he says from his dining room. “I was like searching, ‘what can I wear to the concert?’ Found the jacket, and I figured — although I love Taylor — it wouldn’t be a jacket that I’d wear routinely.”
One of the recipients in Detroit, Alyssa Dunn, started an Instagram account and made it her mission to coordinate a global journey for the piece of clothing. A worldwide community came together, joined at the seams and stuffing each pocket with notes and friendship bracelets until it made it’s way to Portnoy’s home in Miami.
“It’s surreal when you’re picking up the bracelets,” he says as the vibrant fan-made jewelry lays scattered on the table. “It gave me the chills when I opened (the package). I didn’t expect this.”
In Australia, the jacket was coated with several perfumes, colognes and natural odors. One of the London recipients had it dry cleaned so by the time it returned to Portnoy, it didn’t come with a unique smell.
Miss Peaches’ new coat
At the front of Portnoy’s home is a welcome mat that reads “Home of the famous Miss Peaches.” With a cool 1.4 million followers on Instagram, the pit bull mix rescue is a star. She kindly greets visitors and wags her tail. She also just became a sister to Pete the Beagle.
“I wish she could go,” he jokes about attending the Eras Tour.
The original jacket designer, Hansel Velazquez, mailed Portnoy a package. Inside was a brand-new, bedazzled coat for Miss Peaches, a devoted Swiftie. Portnoy puts her version of the jacket around her body, and she wags her tail to pose. The back is similar to Dave’s Eras Jacket, only under the collar is a peach print.
“I’d love to keep the tradition going,” Portnoy says about his coat. He handed it off to a young girl for the final night in Miami. Swift has 15 shows left in New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto and Canada. The jacket will be in attendance.
“It’s pretty incredible,” he says. “It would be a cool thing to frame and hang in the office.”
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