After watching one half of the biggest football game of the season, fans are all riled up. In order to cool all of those emotions and bring the adrenaline level down, the NFL wheels out its annual halftime show.
The toughest game in America stops and pop singers come on stage, just in time to interrupt any sort of passion fans are feeling. Instead of highlights from the game or, for that matter, the season, fans are treated to 15 minutes of agony.
Serious football fans retreat to the restrooms, to the fridge or just to change the channel. People at parties probably can't even hear the performance. There are three performances, though, that stand out as being particularly bad:
3.) Super Bowl XXVII: Michael Jackson. Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills fans were treated to a Michael Jackson performance during the 1993 Super Bowl XXVII game. Jackson sang in front of the thousands of screaming children crowded around the stage. This lawsuit-waiting-to-happen was full of theatrics and "The King of Pop's" dancing abilities.
Already starting to fall from the top, Jackson pulled the classic "Billie Jean" out of the bag for about 20 seconds, and then moved on to "Heal the World."
Noticeably, no one in the stands was actually cheering; only the kids that stood around the stage were. It was also clear that he was lip-syncing with a back-up track. Ask football fans what they want, and it probably won't be Michael Jackson.
2.) Super Bowl XXXV: Aerosmith, 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige. The only thing worse than watching the Ravens stop the Giants in Superbowl XXXV was watching Aerosmith, 'N Sync, Nelly, Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige perform "Walk this Way" during the halftime show. This strange assortment of artists delivered an equally strange performance, with Nelly rapping his own lyrics in the song, Spears trying to match Steven Tyler vocally and Blige, presumably wondering why she accepted the gig, being walked down the stage with 'N Sync. The worst part about it was the dance-off 'N Sync and Aerosmith had at the beginning of the show.
1.) Super Bowl XXXVIII: Janet and Justin. The worst halftime show, however, came in 2004 as the Carolina Panthers played the New England Patriots. This, of course, is the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction," in which singer Justin Timberlake ripped an article of clothing off Janet Jackson on stage in a choreographed dance. The incident did not do the show justice, though, because Kid Rock, P. Diddy and Nelly were there, too.
This "dream team" was likely the last possible cast fans of either team would want to listen to in the middle of a tremendous game.
Jake Goldberg is a student at the University of Connecticut.
