95-Year-Old Man Starts Taylor Swift Fan Club In His Retirement Home
Being older doesn't mean you have to stop being a fan.
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock When you think of Taylor Swift fans, the image that comes to your mind is probably a bunch of screaming young girls decked out in sparkly merch. But it turns out that Swifties can be found in all demographics. A 95-year-old man in Omaha, Nebraska, proved this by starting his very own Taylor Swift fan club in his retirement home.
The club had small beginnings but has grown to over 100 people. Frank Uryasz, its founder, is hoping the unique club will catch the attention of the popstar herself and maybe even earn them a visit. Uryasz sat down with Eddie Messel from local news station KETV to talk about the club.
The 95-year-old man started the Taylor Swift fan club because of one of the nurses at his retirement home.
Uryasz resides at Omaha’s Remington Heights Retirement Community. One of the nurses there expressed dismay that she had repeatedly written letters to Swift and never gotten a response. When he heard this, he jumped into action. “That’s when she said, ‘What am I going to do?’ and I said, ‘I know some people,’” he recalled.
Uryasz has a collection of Taylor Swift merch and even has a custom decal on his walker, according to Messel. His sweet dedication has caught the attention of fellow fans across the country. One North Carolina Swiftie, Molly, sent the club friendship bracelets and cookies with a handwritten note. “Very interesting that someone would go through that much trouble to make bracelets for us,” Uryasz said, proudly sporting one of them on his wrist.
He can’t believe how quickly the club has grown. It’s so large that they’ve had to make membership a little bit harder to obtain. “Someone has to sponsor you if you’re not a member of Remington,” he explained.
The ultimate goal of the fan club is to attract Swift’s attention and get a visit from her.
That would surely make the day of the nurse who inspired it! Messel asked Uryasz what he would say to Taylor Swift if she were watching their interview, and his answer was precious. “I’d say, please come and see us, we need you very much. And with his permission, I’d give her a hug,” he said, referring to Swift’s fiancé, Travis Kelce.
It may be a connection to Kelce’s NFL team, the Kansas City Chiefs, that could actually make that visit happen. The club has put together a package for Swift that will be delivered to “her circle” in Kansas City, where she often attends Kelce’s games.
Uryasz happens to be a lifelong Chiefs fan and has also included letters to Kelce himself and Patrick Mahomes in the package. He added, “If things go right, I can’t say anything but thank gosh.”
Just because you’re older doesn’t mean you can’t be a fan of something.
Professor Lynn Zubernis, PhD, noted that ageism is present in nearly all aspects of society, including fandoms. “Adults are expected to ‘grow out of it’ and may feel like they have to ‘grow up’ and move away from things that bought them pleasure,” she said. “This is unfortunate since many people passionate about something as a teenager may be surprised to find themselves still passionate about something — maybe even that same something — many decades later.”
Rahul Pandit | Pexels
Zubernis said that being a fan as you age has many positive benefits, such as providing a sense of consistency in your life, giving you a community to be part of, and offering structure to the story of your life. “People often describe the important aspects of their lives in terms of being part of a specific fandom,” she pointed out.
As a Swiftie myself, I’m delighted to hear about Uryasz’s enthusiasm for the singer. I can’t imagine a future where I stop loving Taylor Swift, no matter how old I am. Seeing someone like Uryasz live his best Swiftie life at the age of 95 is something to smile about.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
