John Mellencamp Should've Been Super Bowl Halftime Choice for Indianapolis

by Julian Spivey
After the Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime incident in 2004 the halftime show seemingly went to the old guys for a few years (Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and The Who).
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In my opinion, with the exception of Prince, those other five performances are essentially the five greatest Super Bowl halftime performances in the history of the halftime show.

But, for years there were many younger viewers of the Super Bowl whining and moaning about the AARP status of the halftime performers and so last year the powers that be relented and selected The Black Eyed Peas to be the Super Bowl talent.

It never made much sense to me why the powers that be would kowtow to the younger Super Bowl audience, because statistically/demographically the average Super Bowl viewers is 43 years old, the average TV viewers is in their 50s and the average Super Bowl viewer is male.

How many 43-50s year old men want to watch The Black Eyed Peas or other young pop acts during the Super Bowl? My guess is not many. Thus, the classic rock oriented halftime shows of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, The Who, etc. were probably more in tune with the majority of the audiences’ wishes.

Despite the young’uns getting their way many fans and critics alike bemoaned the Black Eyed Peas’ performance last year as possibly the worst halftime show in the history of Super Bowl halftime shows.  

This year the powers that be tried to find a way to make everybody happy by choosing a pop star that could entertain older audiences: Madonna. However, based on online traffic it would seem that Madonna is not the most popular choice and I personally expect the halftime show to be a trainwreck.

The thing is that it could have been avoided with one very logical pick. The Super Bowl this year is being played in Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium so the logical pick really would have been and should have been Indiana’s own favorite son John Mellencamp. Yes, it probably would’ve sent the young’uns crying on their Twitter accounts, but the NFL shouldn’t worry about the viewers who simply tune in for the halftime show and the commercials. They should worry about the ones who’re actually watching the entire night. Mellencamp most likely would’ve been an extremely popular choice among the majority of viewers.

The setlist for Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show has already been announced and will include “Vogue,” “Music,” “Like a Prayer” and her new single “Give Me All Your Luvin’”. Is the Super Bowl really the best time to throw a new song at America, by the way? Marketing wise probably so, but it’s not what the audience wants. Also, by the way, nothing says football like Madonna’s “Vogue”. Right?

I think that a Super Bowl halftime setlist consisting of Mellencamp’s classics “Pink Houses,” “Jack & Diane,” “Small Town” and “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.” would’ve played better not only for the Indianapolis crowd, but for the average viewers at home on their couch trying to enjoy the complete Super Bowl experience.