Because You Didn’t Ask
Thoughts on the All-American vs. NFL Halftime Show
By Madison Hardenburgh
The NFL announced that Bad Bunny will headline the Super Bowl LX halftime show, and social media wasn’t happy. Fans are angry because Bad Bunny doesn’t sing in English, a group even launched a petition to replace him as the headliner. Turning Point USA announced its own show at the same time, calling it the All-American Halftime Show.
According to ChartMasters, Bad Bunny was the second-most streamed artist on Spotify. Not only has Bad Bunny had a great run on Spotify, but he has won three Grammys and received 10 nominations. That doesn’t include the 10 Billboard Music Awards and the two MTV Music Awards he has received.
I haven’t heard one actual reason Bad Bunny shouldn’t be headlining the halftime show. It just seems like people don’t want to hear someone sing in Spanish. If you can participate in “Taco Tuesday”, I think you can sit through a free 15-minute concert from the comfort of your couch.
The NFL is logically going to cater to the fans who spend the most money, whether it’s on tickets, merchandise or anything else NFL-related. In 2023, Statista conducted a survey analyzing interest level and race correlations among NFL fans. There are three categories: casual fans, avid fans and not a fan. The second option is the one that spends the most money and the one the company should be most concerned about. The survey found that Black and Latino people have a higher percentage of casual watchers than white fans, but also higher in the avid fan category.
The current NFL commissioner is Roger Goodell, who has held the position since September 2006. Goodell has talked about how the NFL can become a global sport, and an international franchise or division seems like a possibility within the next couple of decades. The league has played games overseas in Europe and in other Spanish-speaking countries.
Looking at fan statistics and the future of the league, Bad Bunny is honestly a step in the right direction for the NFL to expand its foothold outside the U.S. It’s not just about the game itself, but about what performance will get the most clicks, attention and revenue for not only the Super Bowl but the league as a whole.
Turning Point USA announced its version of the halftime show, called the All-American Halftime Show. So far, there is no official lineup, and the only information announced is that the show will take place at the same time and location as the other halftime show.
The only link or information available directly from Turning Point is a page where you can enter your information for updates and choose music preferences for the show, listed from classic rock to “anything in English.” Of course, Turning Point, being a nonprofit, also has a button for donations. Part of me wonders how the show will be halftime-show quality when Turning Point’s main income is donations and sponsorships.
Turning Point has made it clear its main ideas are protecting faith, family and freedom. I wonder which artist will fully represent these values. I personally think that throwing an alternative halftime show with the same quality and mainstream traction in four or five months seems unfeasible.
Turning Point USA has been on a PR run of a lifetime, catching mass attention after the founder, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated on a college campus earlier this year. Just when Turning Point was about to fall out of the limelight, it announced its halftime show. But the lack of updates leads me to believe this is just another PR move and another reason to get people to donate.
Not only is the premise of the show racist and uninclusive, but it takes away from the point of the Super Bowl halftime show as a whole: to reflect the social conversation and the issues the culture of the company or artist feels are important. People have been mad about who is performing the past few years, specifically Kendrick Lamar’s 2022 performance, which received backlash for being politically charged.
The NFL is talking about change and seems more concerned with audience integration, player concerns, feasibility and the possibility of expanding. Overall, the NFL is evolving into a new kind of football that is bigger than ever before. Bad Bunny seems like good representation for stepping into the future.
I hope Turning Point puts on the show it promised for people who donated and for the followers who are excited, but I’m not crossing my fingers. On Super Bowl Sunday, you will catch me watching the Bad Bunny show and enjoying it.