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Super Bowl 60: I Don’t Think We’re the Target Demographic for Bad Bunny’s Performance
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There’s been a lot of hemming and hawing about Bad Bunny being the Super Bowl halftime performer. He doesn’t sing in English and is politically progressive, he’s anti-ICE and all of that, so that’s been a turn off to the NFL’s conservative fans. Coincidentally, Turning Point USA is indeed going to do their halftime alternate show, and Kid Rock was announced as a performer along with Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, who apparently are country artists.
Anyway, here’s what Roger Goodell said the other day, courtesy of CNN:
“Listen, Bad Bunny is – and I think that was demonstrated last night (at the Grammys) – one of the great artists in the world, and that’s one of the reasons we chose him.”
“But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people, and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talents, and to be able to use this moment to do that. And I think artists in the past have done that. I think Bad Bunny understands that, and I think he’ll have a great performance.”
Firstly, it shouldn’t be lost on anybody the irony of Green Day performing before the Super Bowl. They’re just as lib as anybody. Remember American Idiot? They were anti-George Bush and anti-Iraq war back in the day, which feels like a blip on the radar compared to the pushback against Donald Trump’s presidencies. Billy Joe and Mike and Tre probably have the same feelings as Bad Bunny when it comes to a lot of modern day issues, but there hasn’t been half as much complaining about their selection. Of course, 20 years ago, the scene wasn’t nearly as volatile and toxic as it is now, and we didn’t have social media to argue about the political leanings of bands like NOFX and Rage Against the Machine. The temperature in the room was so much lower, for better or for worse.
Goodell said a whole lot of nothing there, but you have to ask yourself a question. What is the point of the Super Bowl halftime performance? I don’t think there’s one single answer. We would probably say it’s supposed to be a cultural spectacle, a moment in which we can all share ina big performance from one of the world’s biggest stars. That’s was Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, N Sync, Phil Collins – all of those artists back in the day. Then Janet Jackson had the wardrobe malfunction and we were blessed with the NFL taking the safe route and rolling out the geezer rock train of the Stones, Paul McCartney, and Tom Petty. Down with pop! Then it resumed in 2011 and 2012 with The Black Eyed Peas and Madonna, and here we are now.
This year, maybe it’s a marketing opportunity, a chance to put Latino eyeballs on the Super Bowl and maybe get those people to leave the TV on and watch the second half of the game. Now that Bad Bunny fan in Argentina is an NFL fan? It’s a thought. There are more than 500 million Latinos around the world and Spanish is the second most spoken language on the planet, so why wouldn’t you market the product towards them? You’ve already got middle aged white guys watching the game, so we’re not the target demo and never will be. It would be like Josh Shapiro running for President in 2028 and spending all of his time in Oregon instead of the swing states.
The Super Bowl is an American event, but with global viewership. Look at what the NFL is doing with all of these international games. They’re trying to grow the product around the world, and finally sending the pathetic Cowboys to Brazil. Leave ’em at the Copa, Copacabana <Barry Manilow voice>. So Bad Bunny as this year’s half-time performer is consistent with the league increasingly sending teams to international markets.
I guess the thing I don’t understand is that this doesn’t feel like some new conflict. Springsteen played the Super Bowl back in 2009 and he’s always been a huge Lib. But I don’t recall any kind of conservative backlash to his selection, maybe because the guy sang in English or people just didn’t know he was a huge Lib. Regardless, if you liked Bruce, you watched, and if you didn’t like his music, you probably turned on the Puppy Bowl or went outside to smoke a cig with the boys. Same thing with the hip hop show of 2022 and Beyonce and Coldplay and all of that. Has there ever been a halftime show in which all 340 million people in this country unanimously agreed on the selection? No. And there never will be.
The bigger problem, bigger than Bad Bunny appearing at the Super Bowl, is that the Patriots are also appearing at the Super Bowl. Fuck the fucking Patriots! Those bums haven’t been bad enough long enough to deserve another Super Bowl appearance. Boston fans are spoiled. Hammer the Seahawks while the getting is good.
edit: an earlier version of this story said that there are 500,000 million latinos around the world, proving that I need a vacation
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com