Dear Crabby,
It’s time again for the Super Bowl circus. My wife is losing her mind over the fact Justin Timberlake is performing during halftime. Do people actually watch the halftime shows? If so, what do you think about this year’s choice?
Thanks!
Fred Fumble
Dear Fred Fumble,
I think two years ago, I mentioned that the Super Bowl halftime shows of yore were nothing more than a hodgepodge of marching bands, majorettes, and a drill team. Now of course they are large-scale productions. On one hand it’s a bit over-the-top, but on the other hand, it’s a free concert that normally you’d have to take out a mortgage to go see. As for this year’s choice – Justin Timberlake, or JT as my granddaughter informed me, many will remember he, ahem, performed before. Let’s go back to the year 2004 for Super Bowl XXXVIII. The teams were the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots (who won by a field goal), but unless you have a Tom Brady shrine in your home that’s not what people remember. Nope. The moment that is burned into our collective cerebral cortex is the moment when JT, who had joined Janet Jackson’s halftime show went to rip away part of her costume (I’m told it was an ‘artistic decision.’). Now, they say it was supposed to reveal a lace bra, but apparently, he got too handsy and ripped it right down to the you-know-what. And from that moment on Americans were subjected to two things: the term ‘wardrobe malfunction’ every time a piece of clothing failed to stay in place and the implementation of the five-second broadcast delay for all future live TV performances. 
So, here we are 14 years later. The New England Patriots are once again vying for Super Bowl supremacy and good old JT, who is married and a father now, will be trying this halftime thing again. The whole ni**le-gate incident aside, I know some people will have a problem with him performing just because they don’t like his music or the fact he took the boy band route back in the 90s on his way to stardom. And that’s the thing about music. It’s very subjective. Then you add in the fact you’re trying to keep over one hundred million people worldwide entertained … well, there’s bound to be disappointment for some. The older generation wants The Who, The Eagles, etc. But the younger generation thinks they’re too snoozy for a worldwide halftime show. Instead, everyone becomes an armchair concert critic and takes to social media to share their approval or disgust. I had to chuckle last year when Lady Gaga performed and people (mostly conservatives) were happy she didn’t get political. I’m no spring chicken and even I know her songs have political undertones. And for those who were happy she sang Woody Guthrie’s ‘This Land is Your Land’ because it was so patriotic, well, I hate to break it to those folks that it actually started out as a protest song in response to Irving Berlin’s ‘God Bless America.’ And as Paul Harvey (look him up) know you know the rest of the story. Honestly, the most entertaining part of the halftime show will be watching my granddaughter squeal over JT and my grown daughter spaz out at the thought that Timberlake’s former (and less successful) *NSYNC bandmates will join him on stage for a song or two. Hmmm. I might even videotape them fangirling for blackmail purposes later. Now that’s what I call entertainment.
Hope you enjoy the show!
Dear Crabby
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