Best Super Bowl Halftimes

Fandom, Football, Media

From a socio-cultural perspective, the scores of these two Super Bowls matter little.

Except I suppose to the fans in Indy, Chicago, Washington and Buffalo.

In the 2007 game, Peyton’s Colts bested the Bears, 29-17.

In the ’92 game, it was Redskins 37, Bills 24.

The Colts were up 16-14 at halftime in that edition in seriously rainy Miami.

The Skins led 17-0.

But oh my, those two years it was really about what happened while the teams were back in their locker rooms regrouping.

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Best is subjective.

As is Most Favorite.

Most important, or Axis Shifting, not so much.

There’s a clear choice here.

Up to the ’92 rendition of the game, halftime shows were mostly Marching Bands/ Up With People/ cut to the studio for the talking head interludes.

What’s fascinating is that it was Fox of all networks, which didn’t have the game that year, that changed the whole deal forever.

They decided to air alternative programming, cutting into their programming for the 20 minute halftime segment.

Cue the gang from “In Living Color.”

What they put on display was irreverent, politically incorrect, and in its final skit strap yourself in your chair or you’re likely to fall on the floor laughing hilarious.

Homeboy Shopping Network.

Fireman Bill.

And, then this, prepare thyselves for the paradigm of political incorrectitude, “Men on Football.”

Two snaps and backfield in motion.

So many viewers watched the alternative programming, the NFL switched gears the following year, realizing halftime had its own life and audience.

Michael Jackson was first.

* * * * *

As for Best . . .

. . . I’m pretty sure folks are going to point to the Stones or Springsteen or Justin and Janet’s Nipplegate or some of the recent shows as their choice for Best halftime.

For me, there is a clear winner. Not even close.

Prince in that downpour in’07.

Not really knowing the superstar, producers were worried he’d beg off, given the deluge.

But he was all in, and let them know that emphatically.

And thereupon delivered a show for eternity.

Savor this:

OK, how about this? The NFL won’t let me embed the video. Well, harrumph to that. Those greedy SOBs. It’s not like I’m going to charge you to see it. As if they’re not making tens of billions of dollars every year already.

But you really need to watch it.

Which you can do so here.

Sorry about that.

Bad Bunny, you got next.

— c d kaplan

8 thoughts on “Best Super Bowl Halftimes”

  1. My namesake Bad Bunny is gonna have the entire world dancing (except MAGA) in a revelatory and defiant multi-cultural expression of how great music can unite people.

    As for the Best of the Rest – #2 for me would have to be U2’s 2002 stirring and poignant set honoring 9/11 and helping the country’s healing process – opening with the inspirational “Beautiful Day” and closing with a powerhouse rendition of “Where the Streets Have No Name”.

    Consensus #1 clearly will always be Prince’s entire set but the visual of him singing Purple Rain ☔️ in that Miami rain as you just opined is classic.

    That 2007 Saints win – where Sean Payton opened the 2nd half with a brilliant onside kick also had special significance to your college buddy Win-Dog – as he scored one of the greatest gambling victories imaginable- having wagered ore-season the tidy sum of $2000 @ 20-1 (with no analytics just a leap of faith) on his beloved Saints to win the Super Bowl ‼️

    When asked prior to kickoff if he was planning on hedging his wager – the Legend uttered those famous words of Richard Dreyfus in the greatest horse racing film of all time “ Let It Ride”. That he did and the rest is history ‼️

    Happy Super Sunday – I’ll say Seahawks 27-10

    1. Especially to me a tortured Colts fan, thought maybe I did have 1 too many barley pops and thought the year was more of a daze than usual. Thank you for clarifying

  4. This won’t matter to most, but I think the most _important_ SB halftime was 1984, when the Apple Macintosh commercial ran. It only ran that one time, but it certainly presaged an important development in computing and by extension to our world.

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