Yeah, today’s MAGA will excuse any amount of depravity and mediocrity as long as the person 1. Professes a love for Trump and 2. Professes a hatred for the same people they do.
Was “watch the Bad Bunny halftime show but not the game” an option? Because I don’t give a lick about the Seahawks or Patriots, but I desperately want to see if Bad Bunny shits on ICE on live TV in front of tens of millions.
He’s a focal point in the recent culture wars, not just because he is Brown and speaks Spanish. It’s also because he’s vocally anti ICE and won’t perform in the mainland US because he’s concerned about ICE hassling his fans at his concerts. That really raised the hackles of The Regime and its sycophants.
Begin the thawing of Jim Nabors.
They absolutely have, as shown in this Daily Show clip. (Sorry it’s a link to Twitter/X - it was the most direct link I could find.)
Exactly. It was when he said that, to explain why after his “residence” in San Juan he would be going on foreign tour instead of US tour, that the Trump crew really got aggressively ignorant about it.
Not that I’ve seen, but I was thinking about their messaging on this. Conservative Christians often criticize things like popular music acts on the basis of moral depravity. A lot of rappers, for example, have plenty of songs about unwholesome things. (I have no idea what Bad Bunny sings about). And this half time show is going to air on the squeaky clean religious channel. Imagine, say, in 2014, if Trinity Broadcast Network had announced that they were going to air a superbowl halftime special starring Kid Rock as a wholesome alternative to the depraved superbowl halftime show, it would sound absurd.
If they had gone with some country singer with a squeaky clean personal image and uncontroversial music, they could’ve at least gave a pretense that it was about wholesome values vs societal decay or whatever. But because they picked Kid Rock who is not only a piece of shit but who has cultivated an image of being a piece of shit, they can’t even give that pretense. He’s a rapper (kind of) that sings about raping children. (Given their dearth of celebrities and creatives, you have to wonder if famous child rapist Ted Nugent was next up if Kid Rock called in sick with syphillis). At least some hallmark channel friendly musician would’ve been within the norms of how they usually protest.
They massively undercut their own pretense of superior morality just so they could sell out to someone that likes Trump. Which is actually super on message because that’s all they’ve been doing for the last 10 years.
On average, Dopers aren’t the most pop-culture aware group. For everyone who doesn’t know Bad Bunny, this is a great opportunity to expand your horizons with little effort and watch the show. He is HUGELY popular, and for good reason.
Even if his music isn’t your thing at all, it’s good to have at least a passing awareness of what other people like. In fact, I’d say it’s very important for our understanding of and empathy towards others. Willful ignorance is not a virtue.
In that case, I’d also recommend watching Green Day in the pregame show. I think both shows will be so tightly controlled, and the consequences of going off script so high, that it’s unlikely there will be an overt anti-ICE or anti-MAGA message. But if someone is going to do it, my money is on Green Day. They have zero fucks to give.
The NFL leans real hard into the patriotic “football = USA” schtick. DoD also leans real hard into football and the military as kindred spirits and natural partners.
I’m going to bet the contract between NFL & the performers includes “Any smartass remarks and you don’t get paid. At all.”
Well, we know Meatloaf isn’t.
That’s not much of a threat. Performers aren’t paid to be in the halftime show, they do it for free.
D’oh! 
Maybe, like Janet Jackson, the threat is they won’t be invited back. 
Even without the threat of a cancelled payment, there still could be severe consequences. After M.I.A. flipped off viewers at the 2012 halftime show, she was sued by the NFL for $16.6M and eventually settled for a confidential amount.
I think $16.6M would be pocket change compared to what the NFL would attempt to get from Bad Bunny or Green Day.
I think I agree with this. I know enough about Bad Bunny’s music to know for sure it’s “not my thing.” But I like him as a person, and might watch the halftime show just to see how it goes (I usually fast forward if my family lets me) I endured The Weekend when he (they?) did halftime. Hated the music, but that’s fine. Absent a Simon and Garfunkel half time show, I just expect it to be tailored to a different demographic.
Be that as it may, those three people have never been in my kitchen.
“Your honor, they absolutely knew what they were getting themselves into by approaching myself and Green Day.”
“I agree, case dismissed.”
Green Day can just play “American Idiot”. It’s a well-known, popular song, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. But people will know why they’re playing it. Don’t change the lyrics, just play it straight.
So, TPUSA is not a Toilet Paper Of The Month Club?
I like the idea, but I’d bet that Green Day’s contract explicitly forbids that song.
On the other hand, the NFL knows who Green Day is. It almost seems like someone involved must have wanted to make a little statement, so maybe not.
Stephen Colbert made fun of the obscure performers (Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice and Gabby Barrett) who will be featured on the alternative halftime show. (He joked, “Also appearing are Gary Lee Grant, Gilby Brantlet, Dilly Barrett, Tandy Breitbart, Billy Gidley, and Baby Bilbo,” all of which are made-up names.)
Wait… there’s been many halftime performers who were not born in one of the 50 states.
What’s the big deal?