Springsteen Confirmed For Super Bowl Half-Time Show
As rumored back in August, Bruce Springsteen has been confirmed as the half-time performer for the next Super Bowl which is scheduled for February 1, 2009 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The announcement comes from the NFL and NBC, which will be airing the annual event.
Almost 150 million viewers watched the half-time show last year when Tom Petty rocked the half-time show at the University of Phoenix Stadium, so it looks like “The Boss” may be in for the most-watched performance of his career.
Springsteen and his E Street Band will have 12 minutes to fill, which is a pretty short gig, but one with a history of headlining heavy hitters like Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and U2. I’m not sure where the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” of 2004 figures into the history of this event, but it was certainly one of the most publicized, and also the type of performance that is not likely to be repeated again.
In 1988, Chubby Checker was the first well-known musician to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show and the performances have varied in style through the years including the “Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye” in 1995, a “Blues Brothers Bash” in 1997 and the “Celebration of Soul, Salsa and Swing” in 1999 with Stevie Wonder, Gloria Estefan, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Savion Glover.
With Springsteen’s popular appeal and “working man” persona, I suspect that he, along with his E Street Band will draw a very competitive number of viewers to the half-time show in Tampa.
