For quite some time, I was firmly of the opinion that the days of absolute mega-stars at the level of the Beatles or Michael Jackson were gone. In the days of yesteryear, we all consumed our music (and pop culture in general) from a very limited number of sources. When the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan, or when MJ moonwalked at the Motown anniversary special, the whole country was watching and talking about it. You can bet if Michael Jackson announced he was getting married (or even was just dating Priscilla Presley), the whole country was talking about it just because that's how big of a star he was. These days, entertainment is extremely fragmented. We can all get what we want, when we want it and are hardly at the mercy of the local radio station or the only three channels on TV. So the idea of a pop star resonating with almost every age, race, gender, and background person in the US at the same time is nearly impossible today. But then along came Taylor Swift. She is every bit as big a star now as the Beatles and MJ were in their time. I don't know how she did it, but she did it. So the idea that she is engaged being a big deal to an awful lot of people makes sense. That she is engaged to a football player when the NFL is the most valuable television property in the country by a wide margin only makes it bigger.