Allen February 1st, 2004
What a great Super Bowl this year. I’m talking about the game, for obvious reasons. I was hoping for the Patriots to win, but I really didn’t have any skin in the game (no pun intended). I would have been just as happy with a Panthers win as well. But this was one of the few Super Bowls where the final game was actually better than the playoff games.
I was impressed with both quarterbacks — able to lead their teams with grace under pressure. And the ending by Vinatieri’s “3rd time’s a charm” field goal was classic.
The half time show was, well, interesting. A schizophrenic musical set (look, just pick one or two artists and go with them) capped with a Lingerie Bowl worthy finale. It’s a sad comment on artists today who cannot differentiate between a half-time performance and a burlesque routine.
CBS has already apologized for the event. I imagine they had the apology pre-written.
Justin Timberlake has already apologized. To quote:
“I am sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl,” Timberlake said in a statement. “It was not intentional and is regrettable.”
In fact, it was so unintentional that a lyric in the song just happened to be, “Gonna have you naked by the end of this song.” So much of an accident that Justin and Janet held the pose for quite some time. It was so unpremeditated that Janet just happened to be wearing a star shaped pastie.
Look, if someone wants that sort of entertainment, that’s OK by me. Free choice and all that biz. I just think there is a time and a place for that sort of thing. And during the half-time of the Super Bowl is not that time and place. Perhaps during the half time of the Lingerie Bowl.
Extremely disappointing. I hope someone gets fined some serious money for this.
So there you have American culture under a microscope. A game that highlights what is both good and bad about the United States. Two excellent teams giving their all. Two churlish performers seeking to brighten the spotlight on their lack of taste.
Update: MTV’s site currently has the following headline up on their site:
Janet Jackson Got Nasty at the MTV-Produced Super Bowl Halftime Show
Jaws across the country hit the carpet at exactly the same time. You know what we’re talking about…Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake and a kinky finale that rocked the Super Bowl to its core. P. Diddy, Kid Rock, & Nelly rounded out the halftime show in the midst of the greatest game on earth. MTV was Super Bowl central, so armchair quarterbacks, fair weather fanatics and fans of Janet Jackson and her pasties were definitely in the right place. So strap on those pads, keep your head down and get the full recap of The AOL Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show produced by MTV.
Emphasis mine. MTV, in the Yahoo article linked above, stated that the event was: “unrehearsed, unplanned, completely unintentional.”
As a further note, my wife says that the Drudge Report has an extreme closeup of the “protection” in question. It is not a pastie. It is a nipple ring.
It is also interesting to read MTV’s pre-game announcement regarding the show. Capture the text quickly, because something tells me this will be coming down real soon.
They said:
“I don’t think the Super Bowl has ever seen a performance like this,” Duldulao added. “The dancing is great. She’s more stylized, she’s more feminine, she’s more a woman as she dances this time around. There are some shocking moments in there too. It’s a lot of pressure, there’s so many creative people and creative artists, you want to make sure everything is different, and I think she’s going to do that. She’s doing her job well.”
Emphasis mine.
Again, I don’t want to come off as a prude here. I have no problem with this sort of thing, in proper context. This was not proper context. How many teeny-boppers tuned in to watch Justin and got a faceful of Janet’s amazing nipple in return?
(sigh)
Getting back to what was real. Excellent Super Bowl game. Terrible half-time show.