# Springsteen and Super Bowl halftime. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 2, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060 "2009-02-02T01:29:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/101 "2009-02-03T21:53:03Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > Reading all these posts discussing half time shows… Am I the only one who thought Prince were great? - What an awesome guitarr player…! I didn’t know that. > > OP: Springsteen gave us a very entertaining American half time show in a very entertaining game of American football. (I am no Springsteen fan. Or Prince fan. - Come to think of it, not American either.) Prince was wonderful (as far as Halftime Shows go) and yes, he is a truly awesome guitar player. ---
**Author:** ![not\_alice](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_alice/32/7283_2.png) [@not\_alice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_alice)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/102 "2009-02-03T22:36:37Z")
> [@Atomicflea](#): > > She was simply doing the honors for tradition’s sake. Pretty sure tradition is NOT lipsyncing the national anthem. Especially when the PR machine is going haywire about how brave it is of you to perform at all given the tragedy events in your life caused you psychologically. If you can’t perform one song, the National Anthem, to honor the country, then there are plenty that will. Every baseball team manages to find someone 81 times a year. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/103 "2009-02-03T22:45:38Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Rush - Farewell to Kings was the end of the good stuff Ouch. I thought _2112_, \*Moving Pictures \*and _Signals_ were great. Not so much after _Signals_, though. Edit: playing in a stadium makes the sound pretty much suck. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/104 "2009-02-04T00:44:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Prince was wonderful (as far as Halftime Shows go) and yes, he is a truly awesome guitar player. Must agree - on both counts. Again, the very nature of the Superbowl-Halftime venue means we don’t get the effect of a proper performance so one has to adjust relative to a different standard. And Prince is an outstanding instrumentalist and songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/105 "2009-02-04T15:02:36Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Must agree - on both counts. Again, the very nature of the Superbowl-Halftime venue means we don’t get the effect of a proper performance so one has to adjust relative to a different standard. And Prince is an outstanding instrumentalist and songwriter. Well, look at you. You’ve gone and hit the nail on the head. The Halftime show at the Superbowl is hardly “MTV Unplugged starring Bruce Springsteen”. It also isn’t a very carefully mixed show in a smaller venue with a roof. It’s a blowout, a crowd-pleaser designed to take up time, let coaches coach, let commercials be sold, allow people to eat guacamole and small hot dogs and relieve themselves. If you want art, go see a show in a 1200 seater. If you want raucous time-burning entertainment, watch the Halftime Show. And, as a personal aside, there’s nothing humorous about the cameraman who took an eyepiece in the eye when Springsteen slid into him. It’s happened to me while operating handheld camera in close quarters. It hurts like all hell. Injuries on the job aren’t a source of hilarity where I come from. I’ve shot two Superbowl Halftime Shows in my career, ( Miami 1995 and Atlanta 2000 ) and both were carefully planned. I was right up close both times with a Steadicam. Were someone to be hurt during the live broadcast, nobody would stand around grinning like Dickwad Springsteen did after he hurt the guy. Watch the tape. Big ole grin on his face as he pulled back. Good enough show. Asshole moment. My two cents. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/106 "2009-02-04T15:03:26Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > Pretty sure tradition is NOT lipsyncing the national anthem. > > Especially when the PR machine is going haywire about how brave it is of you to perform at all given the tragedy events in your life caused you psychologically. Yep, and yep. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/107 "2009-02-04T16:15:17Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Were someone to be hurt during the live broadcast, nobody would stand around grinning like Dickwad Springsteen did after he hurt the guy. Watch the tape. Big ole grin on his face as he pulled back. > > Good enough show. Asshole moment. My two cents. I don’t know, I saw that as more a “whoops I screwed that one up” embarrassed smile. What was he supposed to do, stop the song to apologise? It wasn’t like he was high-fiving Steve about it later. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/108 "2009-02-04T16:47:59Z")
> [@riker1384](#): > > Am I mistaken, or did I see 2 or 3 members of the Max Weinberg 7, in addition to Max himself? I think I’ve seen some of them play with Bruce before, but on Wikipedia Max is apparently the only one who’s listed as an official member of the E Street band. Those were [The Miami Horns.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miami_Horns) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/109 "2009-02-04T16:50:28Z")
Well, I thought the Springsteen performance was excellent. With the Prince performance of last year, those are the two best Superbowl halftimes shows I remember. I’m not a _huge_ Springsteen fan (never been to a concert, don’t have any albums), but I do have a soft spot in my heart for his music, and I thought his voice was fine and can only hope to have that kind of energy when I hit my late 50s. Backing band was tight, too. Really, there’s nothing negative I could say about the performance. And ditto the WTFs about comparing him to Bob Seger. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/110 "2009-02-04T17:01:50Z")
> [@not\_alice](#): > > To me, this show was just a kind of live promotional music video for the upcoming tour - it was barely a taste. Considering he was doing the super bowl for free, I think you’re right. > [@](#): > > The band then ripped into an unprecedented (and as far as I know never repeated) performance of both Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town like no others. > > Not the songs. > > The albums. > > In order. I hate you, now and forever. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/111 "2009-02-04T18:33:46Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Well, look at you. You’ve gone and hit the nail on the head. The Halftime show at the Superbowl is hardly “MTV Unplugged starring Bruce Springsteen”. It also isn’t a very carefully mixed show in a smaller venue with a roof. It’s a blowout, a crowd-pleaser designed to take up time, let coaches coach, let commercials be sold, allow people to eat guacamole and small hot dogs and relieve themselves. > > If you want art, go see a show in a 1200 seater. If you want raucous time-burning entertainment, watch the Halftime Show. > > And, as a personal aside, there’s nothing humorous about the cameraman who took an eyepiece in the eye when Springsteen slid into him. It’s happened to me while operating handheld camera in close quarters. It hurts like all hell. Injuries on the job aren’t a source of hilarity where I come from. I’ve shot two Superbowl Halftime Shows in my career, ( Miami 1995 and Atlanta 2000 ) and both were carefully planned. I was right up close both times with a Steadicam. Were someone to be hurt during the live broadcast, nobody would stand around grinning like Dickwad Springsteen did after he hurt the guy. Watch the tape. Big ole grin on his face as he pulled back. > > Good enough show. Asshole moment. My two cents. > > Cartooniverse Fascinating perspective from an Insider’s POV - thanks for sharing. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/112 "2009-02-04T19:12:40Z")
> [@Tracy\_Lord](#): > > I don’t know, I saw that as more a “whoops I screwed that one up” embarrassed smile. What was he supposed to do, stop the song to apologise? It wasn’t like he was high-fiving Steve about it later. Thats how it looked to me. It was more of an embarrassed “Damn I slid farther than I thought I would. I looked like an idiot” smile. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/113 "2009-02-04T19:43:16Z")
> [@Wakinyan](#): > > Am I the only one who thought Prince were great? [hijack]I know there’s a difference in the manner that U.S. and U.K. English treat collective nouns for the purpose of subject-verb agreement, but this is the first time I’ve seen a plural verb used with the name of a single individual. Is this subject more complicated than I thought?[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/114 "2009-02-04T19:47:29Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > [hijack]I know there’s a difference in the manner that U.S. and U.K. English treat collective nouns for the purpose of subject-verb agreement, but this is the first time I’ve seen a plural verb used with the name of a single individual. Is this subject more complicated than I thought?[/hijack] Pretty sure it was just a typo. And I thought Prince were great too. And I’m not a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/115 "2009-02-04T19:50:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Pretty sure it was just a typo. I think he meant to say that he did some screen captures of game highlights, and his prints were great. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/116 "2009-02-04T20:10:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Thats how it looked to me. It was more of an embarrassed “Damn I slid farther than I thought I would. I looked like an idiot” smile. Hmmm. Perhaps I overreacted because I _have_ been there. No ax to grind against Springsteen and upon more reflection, I bet you are both right. More surprise than humor at the accident. Snarky comment withdrawn. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/117 "2009-02-04T20:19:06Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Fascinating perspective from an Insider’s POV - thanks for sharing. No sweat. At the Closing Ceremonies in Atlanta at the 1996 Olympics, the Pyro Crew called the shots. Huge stage was slowly assembled live ( kinda hard to explain ) and tons of famous folks rocked and rolled on the same stage. Man, talk about energy. Performers included: - Gloria Estefan - Sheila E. - Faith Hill - B.B. King - Wynton Marsalis - Little Richard - Pointer Sisters - Tito Puente - Buckwheat Zydeco - Stevie Wonder Anyway, nobody and nothing ruled that central area around the stage except for the Pyro Crew. They knew where we could and could not walk because of the pre-set pots surrounding the stage. Huge stuff blew upwards, nobody got scorched. Planning. Safety First, rock 'n roll second. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/118 "2009-02-04T20:23:50Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Thats how it looked to me. It was more of an embarrassed “Damn I slid farther than I thought I would. I looked like an idiot” smile. FWIW, the “power slide right up to the camera/edge of the stage” has been a part of his act for awhile. IIRC, he does it in the “Live in NYC” video, stopping just short of the camera, then leaning over to look in. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/119 "2009-02-04T20:26:21Z")
Maybe somebody waxed the stage on that side. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060/120 "2009-02-04T20:45:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Maybe somebody waxed the stage on that side. 😃 Maybe Bruce was trying to wax poetic and slipped up? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/springsteen-and-super-bowl-halftime/484060.md?page=7)