Dave Portnoy receives a message from Taylor Swift while wearing an Eras travel jacket

MIAMI – On Saturday night, Austin Swift delivered a handwritten message from his sister Taylor Swift to Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, who was sitting in the VIP section of the Eras Tour floor.

Austin said to Portnoy, “Hey, my mom wants to meet you.”

Andrea Swift came up to him and hugged him, which almost brought the entrepreneur and internet personality to tears. In a video shared on Instagram, Portnoy summarizes the core memory moment.

“It was spectacular,” he said in a recap of the show, “and I should be on cloud nine, but this girl recently went viral by slandering me and saying, 'I'm a fake Swiftie. Swifties should hate it.' This guy. More importantly, Taylor's camp hates Dave.

Remember this moment: Celebrate Taylor Swift's unprecedented Eras tour with USA TODAY's enchanting book

The viral TikTok post he is referring to came from fan @thatserynsworld and received around 50,000 likes. This account is now private. Portnoy shared part of the video on Instagram and confessed that her message upset him. He is an ardent supporter of presidential candidate Donald Trump. Swift supported Trump's opponent Kamala Harris in September.

“I’ll give her a free pass,” he said. “For all you Swifties: let’s just practice love.”

Portnoy explained how Austin Swift gave him a handwritten note from the superstar. She wrote Portnoy's name on the white envelope and drew a glowing star. On the other side was a turquoise wax stamp “13”.

“I'm so excited to have you at the show tonight!” Swift wrote on the box. “I wanted to 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 lot of fun tonight!! Love, Taylor.” Although he didn't meet her, he met her mother and brother.

Dave's Eras jacket returns to Miami

The Miami concert was Portnoy's second show. On May 26, 2023, he attended the Eras Tour concert in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Before this show, he bought a custom-made jacket on eBay for $200. He wore the gray denim to the show and gave it to a fan on May 27, 2023. That fan passed it on and so on. A Swiftie hood of the travel jacket was created as fans one by one presented it to someone attending the following show.

The coat traveled across America, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil for the remaining concerts in 2023. During the two-month winter break, fans sent the bejeweled coat to Tokyo, where it briefly got stuck in customs. And then the iridescent shirt made its way to Australia and Europe via Swifties. Swifties brought it to Corneliusgasse in Vienna after three Eras tour shows were canceled due to a foiled terrorist attack.

“I had absolutely no idea what it would become,” he says from his dining room. “I thought, 'What can I wear to the concert?' I found the jacket and thought – even though I love Taylor – it wouldn’t be a jacket I would wear routinely.”

One of the honorees in Detroit, Alyssa Dunn, opened an Instagram account and made it her mission to coordinate a worldwide trip for the garment. A global community came together, banding together at the seams and stuffing every pocket with notes and friendship bracelets until it found its way to Portnoy's home in Miami.

“It's surreal when you pick up the bracelets,” he says, as the colorful fan-made jewelry lies scattered on the table. “It gave me goosebumps when I opened (the package). I didn’t expect that.”

In Australia, the jacket was coated with multiple perfumes, colognes and natural scents. One of the London recipients had it dry-cleaned so that it no longer gave off any particular smell when it returned to Portnoy.

Miss Peaches' new coat

At the front of Portnoy's house hangs 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 greets visitors in a friendly manner and wags her tail. She also just became a sister to Pete the Beagle.

“I wish she could go,” he jokes about taking part in the Eras Tour.

The original jacket designer, Hansel Velazquez, sent Portnoy a package. Inside was a brand new, sparkly coat for Miss Peaches, a devoted Swiftie. Portnoy wraps her version of the jacket around her body and wags her tail to pose. The back is similar to Dave's Eras Jacket, only there is a peach print under the collar.

“I would like to keep the tradition,” Portnoy says of his coat. He gave it to a young girl for her last night in Miami. Swift has 15 shows left in New Orleans, Indianapolis, Toronto and Canada. The jacket will be present.

“It’s pretty incredible,” he says. “It would be a cool thing to frame and hang in the office.”

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Follow USA TODAY Network Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.

Dave Portnoy receives a message from Taylor Swift while wearing an Eras travel jacket

Dave's Eras jacket returns to Miami

Miss Peaches' new coat

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