Halftime Shows of the Past
The first Super Bowl was held in 1967—it wasn’t even called the Super Bowl back then, rather the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game”.
That first game in Los Angeles featured quite a halftime show…the University of Arizona and Grambling State University marching bands performed with legendary trumpeter Al Hirt. The band members created on-field formations to symbolize America, such as the Liberty Bell.
We’ve come a long way since then. Not necessarily for the better.
Now the halftime is extra long to allow for a full concert stage, lighting and technology to be constructed…a massive million dollar performance to be done…and then it’s all taken down so the second half can begin.
Here’s a fun fact…performers are not really paid beyond the minimum, union-required fee. Sports Illustrated reported that a few years ago, that meant the performer Usher received $671 for the performance, plus $1,800 for rehearsals. The NFL does pay production and travel costs, which is $12 to $15 million in itself.
Obviously, the lead performer gets a lot of publicity surrounding his or her appearance. But the NFL…as usual, never knowing where the line is…actually once tried to charge a performer to let them perform. Singer Katy Perry was asked by the league to perform in 2015, which then had the audacity to suggest she should pay them for the privilege. After she said no, they agreed to let her sing anyway.
There was a lot of noise this year about the official performance, so much so that Turning Point USA counterprogrammed its own halftime show, which drew some 10 million viewers online alone, plus the television platforms that aired the four-performer event. But that was hardly the first counterprogramming effort.
Puppy Bowl was developed by Animal Planet in 2005, designed to air at the same time as the Super Bowl halftime show. As we all know, it has become its own phenomenon, now running two hours in length and airing on at least four cable channels. Certainly cute puppies were a contrast to a Bad Bunny.
This will never happen…but maybe next year the NFL should return to the traditional college marching bands performing at halftime. Al Hirt is no longer with us, of course…but they could play the theme from the Green Hornet in his honor.
