Regina woman gets Taylor Swift tickets after battle with cancer

A long and winding road led two Regina Taylor Swift fans to where they are today.

After a global pandemic, a cancer diagnosis and a terrorist threat, Len Goertz and his best friend Laura have been through “The Great War” trying to see Taylor Swift over the last few years.

The story of Len and Laura’s love for Swift goes way back.

“Laura and I met on the bus in junior high, and we’ve been friends ever since,” Goertz said. “It was one of those friendships that I was the super outgoing extrovert who just loved to talk and yap, and she was the quiet person, just on the back of the bus.

Goertz’ dog Pixel absolutely adores Laura, and the trio spend a lot of time together. (Len Goertz/submitted)

“Our friendship really grew, with me just kind of adopting her as my introvert of choice.”

They’re both from Frobisher, Saskatchewan, a small village about 40 kilometres northeast of Estevan.

Goertz said he and Laura are the same age as Swift and essentially grew up with her, eras and all.

“It was a very serendipitous timeline for both of us, because Taylor started country,” he said.

“I think that’s how me and Laura got to know her, because we were both grown in the country mindset. Then Taylor Swift moved to New York the same time we moved to Regina, Saskatchewan. There were so many parallels in the music and how we were growing up and coming of age at the same time.”

The pair said they saw themselves in Swift and her music, and having Swift at the centre of so many of their core memories makes the singer’s current Eras Tour that much more special.

Goertz said this tour is nostalgic for older fans.

“We get to relive those moments,” he said.

“Like Taylor gives away the ’22’ hat, just like she did at the Red Tour. I saw her do that in 2012 and now she’s doing it again. And it’s just like you get to relive all these huge moments and milestones in your life.”

Goertz says he brings Laura out of her shell and she often brings him back down to Earth. (Len Goertz/submitted)

Goertz said listening to Swift’s music takes him and Laura back in time to memories of being broke college students listening to “Mine.”

“‘Mine’ talks about paying bills, and you have no clue what’s going on in your life, and that’s exactly how we felt,” he said.

“It’s just very nostalgic to bring back all those memories at the same time and have that whole encompassing feeling in a three-hour time span.”

The pair have been going to Taylor Swift shows together since the 2009 Craven Country Jamboree. In total, they’ve seen the ‘Shake it off’ singer around 9 times together. But since 2020, it’s been a challenge for Goertz and Laura to see Swift.

When Swift announced ‘Lover Fest’ in late 2019, Laura managed to get two tickets to the show in L.A. The seats were in row 13 on the floor, but that tour never happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between the cancelled tour to the Eras Tour, Swift put out three more albums, and when the Eras Tour was announced Laura managed to secure tickets to see her in L.A. once again. But an unexpected cancer diagnosis for Laura made her unable to travel.

She had to get a full hysterectomy and chemo after doctors found a cyst on her ovaries.

Goertz said Laura was crushed.

“So I just said, ‘Just worry about getting better and take care of yourself. I’m going to make sure that you get to this tour,'” he explained.

Goertz shared Laura’s cancer journey to his social media. The pair encouraged other women to listen to their bodies and visit their doctors if something feels wrong. (Len Goertz/submitted)

The pair tried their luck again. Laura was all clear to travel by August, so they got tickets to Swift’s Vienna show. But those shows were cancelled due to a terrorist threat. 

Goertz shared Laura’s cancer journey to social media in hopes of raising awareness for women.

He said he never thought sharing their story would actually help them get tickets to the tour’s final stop in Vancouver.

“I had someone reach out to me on TikTok and did secure at seats for Friday night, which I’m pretty excited about,” he said.

The tickets are behind the stage. Goertz he is hoping to get better tickets on the floor, but is still grateful just to be in the venue.

“I know so many people are looking to get into that venue and get tickets for it,” he said.

“I think that this is really good bookend to a really difficult chapter in our lives.”

The pair have tickets to Night 1 of the Eras Tour in Vancouver. (Len Goertz/submitted)

Goertz said Laura doesn’t have her own social media and would be too shy to ever post anything about herself online, but she gave her best friend permission to share her story.

“It’s very on-brand for Laura that she encouraged me to share her story on my social media, because there is such a kind of ‘sweep under the rug’ mindset for women’s reproductive health,” he said.

Goertz said a handful of women messaged him online saying that Laura’s story encouraged them to book appointments with their doctors and get things checked out.

“I think that that really speaks to who Laura is as a person, because it’s obviously not in her comfort zone or wheelhouse to do those types of things, but she would always find an avenue to help people,” he said.

Laura is currently cancer free and visits her doctor every three months for checkups, but it seems like nothing could stop these Regina Swifites from making their dreams come true.