The Super Bowl Went Woke And The Crowd Went Silent
The Super Bowl is not some niche awards show. It’s not a private concert for industry insiders. It’s the biggest American sports event of the year. Families watch it. Kids watch it. People who don’t even like football watch it.
So when the NFL puts an artist on the biggest stage in the country, the baseline expectation is simple:
Most people should be able to connect to it.
But what did we get?
A halftime show that had millions of Americans sitting there like, “What is he saying?” and “Why are two dudes doing that on live TV?”
And then, on top of it, you got people in the media trying to gaslight you like you’re the crazy one for noticing it.
Even The Players Didn’t Know The Music
One of the funniest parts of this whole situation came from a guy online, Joe Bonham, who was interviewing NFL players before the halftime show.
He asked them basic questions like: “What’s your favorite Bad Bunny song?”
And these dudes looked like he asked them to solve a calculus equation.
“I don’t know who that is.”
“I’ve never heard of him.”
“I didn’t even know that was a person.”
That matters.
Because if the athletes in the league don’t know the catalog, why are we pretending this selection was an obvious slam dunk for the Super Bowl audience?
“You Don’t Have To Understand It” Is Not An Argument
Then you’ve got the talking heads doing what they always do.
They start telling you that you don’t need to understand the lyrics to feel the “joy,” the “unity,” the “inclusivity,” the “message.”
Stop it.
Music can transcend language sometimes, sure. But a halftime show is not background ambiance. It’s a performance designed to be watched, understood, and shared.
And when people say, “I couldn’t even recognize the songs,” and “I don’t know what’s being said,” that’s not hatred.
That’s a normal reaction.
It’s like going to a movie and being told, “You don’t have to understand the dialogue to enjoy it.”
No. I actually do.
The Double Standard Is Loud
Here’s where it gets even crazier.
Some of these same people will drag another artist for something they said in a song 20 years ago, but suddenly they’re blind, deaf, and silent when the halftime show is filled with sexual content and weird behavior on national television.
So the standard is:
Criticize the guy who mentions Jesus, or said something a long time ago.
Celebrate the guy who’s doing sexually explicit stuff on a family broadcast.
That’s backwards.
And the fact that we even have to say that out loud tells you where the culture is.
America Is Not A Punchline
Then Don Lemon jumps in with the usual script: “America is about immigration,” “English isn’t the original language,” “colonizers,” blah blah blah.
Listen.
America is a nation built on a shared civic identity. We have laws. We have a constitution. We have a common language that binds the country together in public life.
You can speak whatever you want in your home. You can celebrate any culture you want.
But when you’re doing the halftime show for the Super Bowl, in America, for an American audience, and you’re acting like the audience is wrong for expecting to understand what’s happening…
You’re not promoting unity.
You’re promoting division and then calling it progress.
The Crowd Told The Truth
One of the most revealing things I saw was people pointing out something simple:
A lot of folks weren’t even dancing in the stadium.
You can say “production was incredible” all you want. You can say “creativity” all you want.
But the crowd doesn’t lie.
If it hits, people move.
If it doesn’t, you get polite clapping and confused faces.
If You Loved It, Fine. But Stop Lying About The Criticism
If you enjoyed it, God bless you. Enjoy what you enjoy.
But stop pretending the backlash is only coming from some evil place.
A lot of people didn’t like it because it didn’t feel like the Super Bowl.
A lot of people didn’t like it because it wasn’t family-friendly.
A lot of people didn’t like it because they literally couldn’t understand it.
And instead of engaging those concerns honestly, the media reaches for the same old insults and labels.
That’s not persuasion. That’s manipulation.
The Bottom Line
The Super Bowl halftime show is one of the few moments left where America is actually watching the same thing at the same time.
That is powerful.
And when the NFL uses that moment to serve up something that feels disconnected from the majority of the audience, then acts shocked when people complain, that’s not an accident.
That’s a choice.
And America is tired of being told to clap for things that don’t make sense.
Not because we hate anybody.
But because we can still recognize when something is being forced on us and sold as “progress.”
Comment your thoughts. Did you think the halftime show was fire, or was it a flop?
We also kept getting told this was the first Latino halftime act.
Except Gloria Estefan performed at TWO Super Bowls. To wide acclaim from just about everyone, too ...
There is an old saying in business that goes something like “know your customer, and stick to your knitting”.
I grasp the notion there are folks who like music that I do not enjoy. I also knew one day I was likely to grow disconnected from the popular culture.
But the level of decoupling I felt yesterday was unnerving.
It was as if I no longer belonged. It was as if I no longer mattered. It was as if I was no longer welcome as a customer.
Great article, sir, this completing a lot list of great articles.