Remember the Concert for New York after 9/11? McCartney was the final act, and one of the biggest hits on stage for that show. I think that probably earned him a lot of ‘America’ points.
I was just happy that McCartney didn’t do Freedom. I was sure the NFL would have to drag Sept 11 out again.
I thought it was the best halftime show in years. I’m tired of the hyper patriotism and tired of the “Flava of the month” MTV stuff we’ve had over the past few years.
Paul and his band were fantastic! I really enjoyed the performance. Man, it seemed like the whole crowd was singing Hey Jude!
I wish he had rolled out Jet instead of Drive My Car, but it was still great!
Gracious, I guess defined abs and pecs weren’t all the rage back then.
I thought it was an all right half-time show.
I mean, what’s to really love or hate about Paul McCartney professionally running through his 40 year old songs that we’ve all heard a billion times?
Sir Pual is about as inoffensive as you can get.
I thought the stage was pretty cool, and I liked the arrangements, a little more modern sounding.
Still, I think “Drive my Car” is a terrible song. Put that thing to rest.
C’mon. . .“beep-beep 'n beep-beep YEAH!”
Just that we’ve heard them a billion times. I’m not a big fan of oldies – unless it’s The Sex Pistols, The Clash, etc. (Heh. Trying to get them back together would be like trying to put the Beatles back together. 
)
Regarding the throng of people around the stage, were these people brought in specifically for the halftime show, or would they have had regular seats, as well? Wide shots appeared to show a full field as well as a full crowd in the stands.
A very good halftime show; and caveman is exactly right, it was infinitely better for leaving out the medleys and dancers. Great musicians and great songs don’t need window dressing.
But I do have a couple minor quibbles.
I think the song order was wrong. I would have opened with Live and Let Die to really kick things off.
And was I the only one laughing my ass off when I noticed that during Hey, Jude, 65,000 people in the stands were holding up cards to spell out “na na na na”?
I have suspected for the past couple of years that “audience members” are paid to dance and scream during the half-time and pre-game musical acts. I doubt they’d let a bunch of drunken, rowdy fans onto the field anyway.
I thought the McCartney show was so-so. I actually almost fell asleep, and had to force myself to wake up during the third quarter. It was very blah, IMO. YMMV, of course.
I was wondering about this myself. The people around the stage looked way too young to be fans of Paul McCartney. Look at me: I’m 29, I’m too young to remember the Beatles, and I only know “Live and Let Die” because Guns ‘N’ Roses covered it in the 80’s. I’d think that, to some 18-year old, Paul McCartney would be about as cool as Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra. And the stands did look like they were full during the halftime show.
They were from local area high schools, actually. (Which begs the question of how many of them know who Paul McCartney is?)
Exactly! I’m 27 and thought it was pretty lame. I can’t imagine what those high-schoolers (thanks for the info, Zsofia) thought. Though they did look like they were having a good time, which is why I began to speculate they had been paid to “enjoy” the show.
Although in my limited experience, it’s not totally unheard of for high-schoolers to go through a “discovering the Beatles” phase.
On an unrelated note, didja notice how careful he was to enunciate “If this ever-changing world in which we’re livin’…” in “Live and Let Die”?
i thought paul sounded pretty good. and yeah, i wondered if those young girls jumping around in the front had any idea who the ancient dude with the funny guitar-y thing was.
i think i had the line of the night when i said,“you know, this is great and all, but right about now i wouldn’t mind seeing a nipple.”
According to a moderator of the forum at paulmccartney.com, the musicians accompanying him were as follows:
Same here. Felt like a swan song and he looked so damn lonely on the stage (where’s John? where’s George? Where’s Linda?). But it was a great performance.
It definitely isn’t. Happens to younger kids, too. I still wouldn’t be surprised if most of the audience had dim knowledge of who Paul is, or less than that.
Actually, yeah, I was listening very closely for that. Good for him, makes me feel better about sticking up for him in online debates about those lines. 
This 18 year old loves Paul McCartney!
I’m not a big fan of Elvis, and I’m really not a fan of Frank Sinatra.
I just want to point out that I am also shocked – shocked! – by the moral values in the show. While there was no nudity, there were very clear and explicit references to transvestism, illegal drug use, and a promiscous homosexual lifestyle.
I’m thinking about complaining to the FCC. Who’s with me?
Well, no, it was not an explicit reference to drug use. It has built-in double meaning. “California grass” can also mean the stuff in your lawn that they do have too much of in the desert around Tucson, Arizona.
And the line “But she gets it while she can” is also ambiguous.