New Delhi, July 25 -- NEW YORK - The invitation that changed George Kittle's parents' lives arrived, he explained, almost by accident.

Bruce and Jan Kittle had not been on the original plan for Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift's wedding. But a friendship forged at Tight End University - the offseason tight end camp that Kelce, Kittle, and fellow NFL players launched in 2021 - had deepened in ways the calendar had not predicted. Bruce Kittle and Travis Kelce had developed their own connection. The mothers had later met Swift herself at a Tight End U event, and the encounter, by Kittle's account, had made an impression.

"Travis likes Bruce a lot," Kittle told Yahoo in a recent interview. "Then the moms got invited because of Tight End U last...