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Us Weekly’s Athletes of the Year: Jason Kelce, Ali Krieger and More on December 25, 2023 at 5:00 pm Us Weekly
Jason Kelce, Nick Bosa and Ali Krieger. Getty Images (3)
In the world of sports, 2023 was the year Swifties embraced football, Kim Kardashian put athletes in Skims and Ali Krieger channeled her inner Beyoncé.
While Patrick Mahomes earned the NFL MVP award, Corey Seager and the Texas Rangers won the World Series and the Denver Nuggets took home the NBA Championship trophy, Us Weekly has slightly different criteria for what makes an Athlete of the Year.
In a shocking turn of events, Travis Kelce is not actually on our list, but the Kansas City Chiefs tight end (and his relationship with Taylor Swift) inspired more than one pick. Kelce and Swift started dating this summer after he attended one of her Eras Tour shows. They went public in September when she attended a game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and Us has been watching football ever since.
Scroll through to see which athletes made Us’ list — and why:
Angel Reese: Best Refusal to Settle
After the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team won the NCAA championship in April, they scored the traditional invitation to the White House — but so did the losing team, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. LSU forward Reese, however, wasn’t having it, because when do the losers ever get to meet the president? “A JOKE,” she tweeted after First Lady Jill Biden publicly extended her invite to both teams.
Reese ultimately visited the White House with her LSU teammates, but the Hawkeyes did not, and Biden’s press secretary clarified that the first lady only meant to “applaud the historic game” between the two teams. Now in her senior season, Reese was recently named The Sporting News’ Athlete of the Year alongside her Iowa rival Caitlin Clark.
Angel Reese Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Marcus Jordan: The Michael Jordan Trophy
The NBA announced in December 2022 that the league’s Most Valuable Player award would be renamed to honor the Chicago Bulls legend. While his son Marcus never even played in the NBA, he’s an MVP to Us for joining The Real Housewives of Miami with girlfriend Larsa Pippen. Marcus has all the makings of a good Househusband: He’s showing up to events on the show, he’s stirring the pot by giving different answers every time he’s asked about a potential engagement and his family situation brings serious drama. (ICYMI: Michael has a complicated history with Larsa’s ex-husband, his former Bulls teammate Scottie Pippen). Marcus could even make the list again in 2024 based on his performance in the upcoming season 2 of The Traitors.
Bryson Stott: Best Walk-Up Song
The Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park is known for bringing in some of the rowdiest crowds in baseball, and Stott’s walk-up song only has only added to the hype. Each time the second baseman approached home plate this season, Tai Verdes’ feel-good single “A-O-K” blasted through the speakers. With every game, fans got louder and louder as they sang along — and the 2023 playoffs were no exception.
“It’s really cool, kind of locks me in,” Stott said in an October interview of the crowd’s reaction. “You almost can’t even hear the actual song. It’s just everybody else singing it, so it’s pretty cool. I love it.”
The Phillies may not have made it to the World Series this year, but “A-O-K” has become the team’s unofficial anthem leading into 2024. (Watch out “Dancing on My Own,” because rumor has it “A-O-K” is still echoing through the Bank to this day.)
Tommy DeVito: Poultry Prince
The New York Giants quarterback got his first start in November after starter Daniel Jones and backup Tyrod Taylor were both injured. While he’s found some success on the field, he solidified his spot in pop culture for 2023 via his love of chicken cutlets — which he proudly enjoys at home with his parents.
Ellen Goltzer: Queen of Pickleball
Goltzer may not have ended up with Gerry Turner, but she dominated the court during a group date on The Golden Bachelor, winning the first-ever Golden Bachelor Pickleball Tournament with partner Kathy Swarts. It’s a true skill to show off your abilities on a Bachelor group date without ending up with a target on your back.
Ellen Goltzer ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
Jason Kelce: Achievement in Journalism
It was Travis’ brother, Jason, who asked Travis about a recent concert he attended when the siblings recorded a SeatGeek ad in July, which led Swift to contact Travis. In another commercial for the ticket platform in November, Jason tee’d up Travis to tease a trip “close to the equator” ahead of his now-viral appearance at Swift’s Buenos Aires concert. When he returned, Jason got all the scoop on how Travis felt about Swift changing her “Karma” lyrics to give her boyfriend a shout-out and how he converted Swift’s dad, Scott, from an Eagles to Chiefs fan. Plus, who could forget Jason’s investigation into Travis’ interaction with Taylor’s security guard outside of SNL?
Jason has found the perfect balance of making his brother blush while respecting his privacy. Consider this an endorsement for Jason’s inevitable post-football broadcast career … unless he is interested in a sports reporter position at a certain weekly magazine. For a complete list of the best “New Heights” moments in 2023, keep checking Us’ End of Year hub.
Mecole Hardman Jr.: Social Media Star by Association
The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver’s girlfriend, Chariah Gordon, nearly broke the internet when she posted a pic of Swift kissing Travis on the cheek in October. Hardman Jr. may have not played a down of football since week 11 because of a thumb injury, but his relationship with social-media-savvy Gordon made Us forever thankful for his time in the NFL.
A’ja Wilson: Queen of Good Times
Wilson led her Las Vegas Aces to their second straight WNBA championship in October and won her first WNBA Finals MVP trophy, but it was her unparalleled celebratory skills that landed her on this list. At the team’s post-game press conference, Wilson couldn’t contain her laughter as her teammates brandished champagne bottles while she tried to answer questions over the sounds of Crime Mob’s “Knuck If You Buck.”
Then, at the Aces’ victory parade, Wilson wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the voting results for the regular season MVP race — including a “1” for the lone vote for her to finish in fourth place. (The New York Liberty’s Breanna Stewart was named the regular season MVP in September.)
“Whoever you are out there that voted me fourth, thank you. Thank you so much,” Wilson said at the event. “I want to say I appreciate you because that just means that I got a lot more work to do. We coming back, we coming back, baby. We gonna do this s–t again.”
Nick Bosa: Hottest in Skims
If you didn’t see the photos of the San Francisco 49ers defensive end modeling Kardashian’s new men’s underwear line at least five times when the collection dropped in October, you’re not following the right people on Instagram.
Coco Gauff: Best ‘I Told You So’
Gauff took home her first Grand Slam title in September when she won the US Open after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in three sets (making her the first American teenager to win the tournament since Serena Williams in 1999). While accepting the trophy, the 19-year-old thanked her parents, her coaches, tennis trailblazer Billie Jean King — and her haters.
“Honestly, thank you to the people who didn’t believe in me,” Gauff told the thrilled crowd. “A month ago, I won a 500 title, and people said I would stop at that. Two weeks ago, I won a 1000 title, and people were saying that was the biggest it was gonna get. So, three weeks later, I’m here with this trophy right now. I tried my best to carry this with grace and I’ve been doing my best, so, honestly, to those who thought you were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it, and now I’m really burning so bright.”
After a hard-fought battle on the court, Gauff saved a little energy for a polite kiss-off — and fully cemented her status as an icon.
Dak Prescott: Most Unhinged Touchdown Celebration
A Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving has become a time-honored sports tradition, but Prescott brought a little extra shock value to the field this year. The QB threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to KaVontae Turpin, who hopped into an oversized Salvation Army bucket after making it into the end zone. Prescott followed, pulling turkey legs from the bucket and taking a huge bite. (The Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders 45-10.)
“Team effort, team idea,” Prescott said in a postgame interview, revealing it was “a two to three day long process” to get the plan in place. “We understand we’re going to be in [the end zone]. It’s not like we had [turkey legs] in just that end zone, we had them in every bucket.”
Jordan Mailata and Jordan Davis: Unexpected Singing Talent
Teammates Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and Mailata returned to the studio for the second annual Philadelphia Eagles holiday album, A Philly Special Christmas Special, and once again, Mailata’s vocals took listeners by surprise. He hit all the right notes on Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and held his own alongside the legendary Patti LaBelle on “This Christmas.”
It was newbie Davis, however, who truly caught fans off guard as he crooned the bridge of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” While his performance quickly went viral, Davis needed a little convincing to join the charity project. “It was incredible,” he told USA Today in December. “I’m really happy that I have something to show for it, something to give my mom for Christmas. … Not a lot of people know I can sing. I don’t even think I can sing half the time.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Best Met Gala Serve
The Oklahoma City Thunder star has become a street style icon throughout his time in the NBA, and he further proved his fashion prowess by pulling up to the 2023 Met Gala in custom Thom Browne. His layered black-and-white suit was paired with a black bow tie, black combat boots and cropped black trousers, perfectly embodying the “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” theme.
Gilgeous-Alexander previously attended Fashion’s Biggest Night in 2021, and returning to the iconic Met steps was just like prepping for a basketball game. “You just want to get it right. … When you play at the Staples Center, you walk in and you can feel it,” he told GQ in May. “When you play at The Garden, you walk in, you feel it.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Kevin Mazur/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Ali Krieger: Best Divorce Swag
Soccer fans were shocked in October when news broke that Ashlyn Harris had filed for divorce from wife Krieger, thus ending their reign as one of the sport’s biggest power couples. The situation only got more shocking when Harris started dating Sophia Bush, who’d recently split from husband Grant Hughes, leading some internet sleuths to wonder whether there was any overlap in the relationships. (Harris subsequently denied cheating on Krieger.)
Krieger’s lone comment on the split is an October Instagram caption that read, “Preparing for playoffs while in my Beyoncé lemonade era.” (As the Beyhive knows, Beyoncé’s 2016 album, Lemonade, was all about Jay-Z’s inexplicable infidelity.)
One month later, Krieger captained NJ/NY Gotham FC to its first-ever NWSL championship, then dropped the mic by retiring. In her Lemonade era, indeed!
Jabrill Peppers: Funniest Mic’d Up Flub
When the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants 10-7 in November, Peppers was caught throwing major shade at his own team on a hot mic, telling Giants running back Saquon Barkley after the game, “You lucky we ass.”
Peppers’ commentary quickly made its way around the internet — and was even included in the NFL’s Mic’d Up highlight reel for Week 12. He later issued an apology for the flub, telling reporters, “We’ve got more important things to worry about than me being caught on a hot mic. … We all know the standard. We know what it’s supposed to look like, and it’s not that right now.”
The safety said he was just letting out “a little frustration” after a tough loss and insisted that his quip wasn’t directed toward anyone in particular. “That’s one that I wanted. But at the end of the day, we’re not doing enough to get it done right now, and we all know that,” he added. “But we’ve got six more opportunities to go out there and try to build momentum going into next year. … I want to be a part of the solution. So, it is what it is.”
In the world of sports, 2023 was the year Swifties embraced football, Kim Kardashian put athletes in Skims and Ali Krieger channeled her inner Beyoncé. While Patrick Mahomes earned the NFL MVP award, Corey Seager and the Texas Rangers won the World Series and the Denver Nuggets took home the NBA Championship trophy, Us Weekly
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The question Sydney Sweeney’s career forces every serious artist to ask themselves.
Most people say they want to be an actor. But wanting the life and being willing to do what the life requires are two entirely different things. Sydney Sweeney’s performance as Cassie Howard in Euphoria is one of the clearest examples in recent television of what it actually looks like when an artist refuses to protect themselves from the story they are telling.
The Performance That Started a Conversation
Cassie Howard is not a comfortable character to watch. She is messy, desperate, and heartbreakingly human in ways that most scripts would have softened or simplified. Sydney Sweeney did not soften her. She played every scene at full exposure — the breakdowns, the humiliation, the moments where Cassie is both completely wrong and completely understandable at the same time.
What made the performance remarkable was not the difficulty of the scenes. It was the consistency of her commitment to them. Night after night on set, take after take, she showed up and gave the camera something real. That is not a small thing. That is the kind of discipline that separates working actors from generational ones.
What the Industry Does Not Tell You
The entertainment industry sells you a version of success built around talent, timing, and luck. And while all three matter, none of them are the real differentiator in a room full of equally talented people. The real differentiator is willingness — the willingness to be honest, to be vulnerable, and to let the work require something personal from you.
Most actors hit a wall at some point in their career where a role demands more than they have publicly shown before. The ones who say yes to that moment, who trust the material and the director enough to go somewhere uncomfortable, are the ones audiences remember long after the credits roll.
Sydney Sweeney said yes repeatedly. And the industry took notice.
The Question Worth Asking Yourself
Before you answer, really think about it. There is a moment in every serious audition room where someone might ask you to go further than you are comfortable with — to access something real, to stop performing and start revealing. In that moment, you have to decide what your dream is actually worth to you and, more importantly, what parts of yourself you are not willing to trade for it.
That is the question Euphoria quietly raises for anyone watching with ambition in their chest. Not “could I do that,” but “should I ever feel pressured to.” There is a difference between an artist who chooses vulnerability as a creative tool and one who is pressured into exposure they never agreed to. Knowing that difference is not a weakness. It is the most important thing a young actor can understand before they walk into a room that will test it.
Because the only role that truly costs too much is the one that asks you to abandon who you are to play it.
What You Can Take From This
Whether you are an actor, a filmmaker, a content creator, or someone simply building something from scratch, the principle is the same. The work that connects with people is almost always the work that cost the creator something real. Audiences can feel the difference between performance and truth. They always could.
Sydney Sweeney did not become one of the most talked-about actresses of her generation because she got lucky. She got there because she was willing to be completely, uncomfortably human in front of a camera — and because she knew exactly who she was before she let the role take over.
That combination — full commitment and a clear sense of self — is rarer than talent. And it is the thing worth chasing.
Written for Bolanle Media | Entertainment. Culture. Conversation.
And honestly? That might be exactly what he wanted.
Justin Bieber stepped onto the Coachella stage Saturday night as the highest-paid headliner in the festival’s history — reportedly pocketing $10 million — and proceeded to sit down at a laptop and play YouTube videos.
The internet, predictably, lost its mind.
What Actually Happened
This was Bieber’s first major U.S. performance since his Justice era — a long-awaited comeback after battling Ramsay Hunt syndrome in 2022, which caused partial facial paralysis, plus years of mental health struggles and a very public disappearing act from the industry.
The stage setup was minimal: a fluid cocoon-like structure, no backup dancers, no elaborate lighting rigs. Just Bieber, a stool, and a laptop.
He opened with tracks from his 2025 albums Swag and Swag II, then invited the crowd on a journey — “How far back do you go?”
What followed was a nostalgic scroll through his entire career: old YouTube covers before he was famous, classic hits “Baby“ and “Never Say Never“ playing on screen while he sang alongside his younger self. Guests including The Kid Laroi, Wizkid, and Tems joined him throughout the night.
He even played his viral “Standing on Business” paparazzi rant and re-enacted it live, hoodie on, completely unbothered.
The Moment Nobody Predicted
But here’s what the critics burying him in their hot takes chose not to lead with: Bieber closed his set with worship music.
In the middle of Coachella — one of the most secular stages on the planet — he performed songs rooted in his Christian faith, openly crediting Jesus as the reason he was standing on that stage at all.
It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t a quick prayer and a thank-you. He leaned into it fully, in front of a crowd of 125,000 people who came expecting pop bangers and got a testimony instead.
For fans who have followed his faith journey — his deep involvement with Hillsong and later Churchome, his baptism in 2014, and his very public declaration that Jesus saved his life during his darkest years — the moment landed like a full-circle miracle.
Why People Are Mad
Critics have been brutal.
Zara Larsson summed up the skeptics perfectly, posting on TikTok: “It’s giving let’s smoke and watch YouTube“ — and that clip went just as viral as the performance itself.
One fan on X wrote: “I’m crying, this might actually be the worst performance I’ve ever seen. He’s just playing videos from YouTube… zero effort, pure laziness.”
The comparison to Sabrina Carpenter’s Friday headlining set — elaborate staging, multiple costume changes, celebrity cameos — only made Bieber’s stripped-down show look more controversial.
And the $10 million figure kept coming up. People felt cheated.
Why His Fans Think Everyone’s Missing the Point
Here’s where it gets interesting.
One commenter on X put it best: “He did not force a high-production machine that could burn him out again. Instead, he sat with his past, scrolling through old YouTube videos, duetting with his younger self, and mixing nostalgia with new chapters.”
As the set progressed, Bieber visibly opened up. He removed his sunglasses. He took off his hoodie. He smiled, made jokes about falling through a stage as a teenager.
One Instagram account with millions of followers posted: “This Justin Bieber performance healed something in me.”
That healing language is intentional for Bieber — it mirrors how he talks about his faith. In interviews, he has repeatedly said Jesus didn’t just save his career; He saved his life. The worship set at Coachella wasn’t a gimmick. It was a confession.
The Bigger Picture
Love it or hate it, Bieber’s Coachella set is the most talked-about moment from Weekend One — more than Karol G making history as the first Latina to headline the festival, more than Sabrina Carpenter’s spectacle.
That’s not an accident.
In an era where every headliner tries to out-produce the last one, Bieber walked out with a laptop, a stool, and his faith — and made it personal. For millions of fans watching, the worship songs weren’t filler. They were the point.
Whether you call it lazy or legendary, one thing is clear: Justin Bieber isn’t performing for the critics anymore. He’s performing for an audience of One — and the rest of us just happened to be there.
Drop your take in the comments — was Bieber’s Coachella set lazy, legendary, or something even bigger?
People don’t watch films the way they used to—and if you’re still cutting everything for the big screen first, you’re losing the audience that lives in your pocket.
Every swipe on TikTok is a tiny festival: new voices, wild visuals, heartbreak, comedy, and chaos, all judged in under three seconds. In that world, vertical films aren’t a gimmick. They’re the new front door to your work, your brand, and your career.
The movie theater is now in your hand
Think about where you’ve discovered your favorite clips lately: your phone, in bed, in an Uber, between texts. The “cinema” experience has shrunk into a glowing rectangle we hold inches from our face. That’s intimate. That’s personal. That’s power.
Vertical video fills that space completely. No black bars. No distractions. Just one story, one face, one moment staring back at you. It feels less like “I’m watching a movie” and more like “this is happening to me.” For storytellers, that’s gold.
The old rules still matter—but they bend
Film school taught you:
- Compose for the wide frame.
- Let the world breathe at the edges.
- Save the close-up for maximum impact.
Vertical filmmaking says: bring all of that craft… and then flip it. You still need composition, rhythm, framing, and sound. But now:
- The close-up is the default, not the climax.
- Depth replaces width—what’s in front and behind matters more than left and right.
- Micro-scenes—60 seconds or less—must feel like complete emotional beats.
It’s not “less cinematic.” It’s a different kind of cinematic—one that lives where people already are instead of asking them to come to you.
Your characters can live beyond the film
Here’s the secret no one tells you: audiences don’t just fall in love with stories; they fall in love with people. Vertical video lets your characters exist outside the runtime.
Imagine this:
- The day your trailer drops, your lead character is already a recurring presence on people’s For You Pages.
- There are 10 short vertical scenes—arguments, confessions, jokes—that never made the final cut but live as their own mini-episodes.
- Fans aren’t asking “What is this movie?” They’re asking, “When do I get more of her?”
When someone feels like they “know” a character from their feed, buying a ticket or renting your film stops feeling like a risk. It feels like catching up with a friend.
Behind the scenes is no longer optional
Vertical films thrive on honesty. Shaky behind-the-scenes clips. Laughing fits between takes. The director’s 2 a.m. rant about a shot that won’t work. The makeup artist fixing tears after a heavy scene. That’s the texture that makes people care about the final product.
You don’t have to be perfect. You have to be present.
Ideas you can start capturing tomorrow:
- “What we can’t afford, so we’re faking it.”
- “The shot we were scared to try.”
- “One thing we argued about for three days.”
When you show the process, you’re not just selling a film—you’re inviting people into a journey.
Think in episodes, not posts
Most people treat vertical video like a one-off blast: post, pray, forget. Instead, think like a showrunner.
Ask yourself:
- If my project were a vertical series, what’s Episode 1? What’s the hook?
- How can I end each clip with a question, a twist, or a feeling that makes people need the next part?
- Can I tell one complete emotional story across 10 vertical videos?
Suddenly, your feed isn’t random. It’s a season. People don’t just “like” a video—they “follow” to see what happens next.
The attention is real. The opportunity is bigger.
We’re in a rare moment where a micro-drama shot on your phone can sit in the same feed as a studio campaign and still win. A fearless 45-second monologue in a bathroom. A quiet scene of someone deleting a text. A single, wordless push-in on a face that tells the whole story.
Vertical films give you:
- Low cost, high experimentation.
- Immediate feedback from real viewers.
- Proof that your story, your voice, your world can hold attention.
You don’t have to wait for permission, a greenlight, or a perfect budget. You can start where you are, with what you have, and let the audience tell you what’s working.
So, are you ready?
Some filmmakers will roll their eyes and call vertical a phase. They’ll keep making beautiful work that no one sees until a festival says it exists. Others will treat every swipe, every scroll, and every tiny screen as a chance to connect, teach, provoke, and move people.
Those are the filmmakers whose names we’ll be hearing in five years.
The question isn’t whether vertical films are “real cinema.” The question is: when the next person scrolls past your work, do they feel nothing—or do they stop, stare, and think, “I need more of this”?
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