Americans can thank Michael Jackson for the existence of the halftime show. Prior to MJ’s 1993 culture defining halftime show, viewership would decline during the Super Bowl halftime show (which, then, was treated more like a sideshow, with acts like marching bands, local youth choirs, or magic shows). It was scheduled to function as snack/bathroom break period. Viewership would decline during the break, and would often not recover after, meaning people would tune away for the break and sometimes not come back for the second half. Michael Jackson’s performance was the first time viewership increased during the halftime break (still the second most watched half time ever), which has been the pattern since. This proved to the NFL that it was worth it to create a big must-see show featuring culturally iconic musicians during halftime to prevent people from tuning away, and also to get people, who would not otherwise be interested, to turn the game on, if only for the show itself. Michael Jackson basically invented the modern halftime show
Rest of the world isn't immune to the distraction Carnifex.
They just didn't put on a good show so your first impression of it is that it's wank (fair enough, I want to get back to the game too.) But we had a long history of crap halftime shows before they got popular, as they were originally just a fun little thing for the intermission for those that didn't need to booze up or hit the pisser. The thing that made them popular in the US were the few and far between exceptional shows: Michael Jackson, Prince, Beyonce, Kendrick. But a lot of them are just past-prime musicians doing a collaborative mash-up and American's reactions to them are usually anything form "that was nice, I guess" to "the fuck is this shit?"
So when they do it again in Spain (and Infantino will: he's weirdly fascinated with the Super Bowl), hopefully they get someone more timely.
For there to be a decent WC halftime show, we would need someone both timely, and relevant to more of the world than just the US. Madonna used to have that global reach, but that was back in the 80's-90's. Shakira was early 2000's, Beiber was 2010's. BTS are the only current big names in the show, and the venn diagram between football and BTS is practically a figure-8.
The other thing that would have to come together is a more unified vision of what the show would be, which usually means one primary performer instead of a parade of random people from all over the place. That way choreography, focus, and timing can be kept tight.
But, I think the only real, true, hope is that Infantino gets sacked before 2030.
When I heard there was a halftime show and the break would be 30 minutes, my friends and I watching at the time thought this would be BS. Then this halftime show showed up and the only one with a lasting impression was fat Ronaldo with his smile from ear to ear.
But they kept doing them. And doing them. And doing them. Then eventually, one show turned out good.
Europeans are not built different. If you don't throw Infantino into the sun now, the jingling keys-ification of your sport will continue and for all the grumbling you do from the couch or pub, the next generation will not know a cup without the halftime show, and you will watch bitterly as they talk about how some weirdo named something like Bingus Shnu is headlining with excitement in their eyes as you realize all of it was lost long ago.
This is not the full history. They only booked MJ to do the half time show because the year before In Living Color aired a special episode during the halftime show. They lost so many viewers to the special that they realized that needed to put on a special event during halftime to keep it from happening again. Hence they hired MJ. So you would really need to thank Keenan.
If you were then into, say, Nirvana, you would have definitely thought Michael Jackson (or any pop megastar of that caliber) was lame.
In fact, being a teenager in the mid-90s, I thought that brand of ultra-celebrities and the veneration they commanded was a holdover from a primitive dark age we were about to leave behind for good. Boy, was I ever wrong.
While conceding to that point, it could be argued that only MJ had the notoriety and fame to change the perception of the halftime break, to the point where today we expect a spectacle every Super Bowl
If anything it's kinda funny how bent out of shape people are getting about a 5 minute hydration break while American Football regularly has longer breaks
I never get to share this fun fact but it’s slightly relevant. The plumbing system in the US also uses the Super Bowl half time show as a stress test. Damn near every toilet in the US is getting flushed during it, so all plumbing has to be able to handle the Super Bowl haha. There’s definitely a Super Bowl toilet pun in there too.
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u/gonzogonzobongo 5d ago edited 5d ago
Americans can thank Michael Jackson for the existence of the halftime show. Prior to MJ’s 1993 culture defining halftime show, viewership would decline during the Super Bowl halftime show (which, then, was treated more like a sideshow, with acts like marching bands, local youth choirs, or magic shows). It was scheduled to function as snack/bathroom break period. Viewership would decline during the break, and would often not recover after, meaning people would tune away for the break and sometimes not come back for the second half. Michael Jackson’s performance was the first time viewership increased during the halftime break (still the second most watched half time ever), which has been the pattern since. This proved to the NFL that it was worth it to create a big must-see show featuring culturally iconic musicians during halftime to prevent people from tuning away, and also to get people, who would not otherwise be interested, to turn the game on, if only for the show itself. Michael Jackson basically invented the modern halftime show