American tripe. Overhyped for a boring game, they have to do something to keep it interesting.

12 minutes ago, layzie said:

I enjoyed it.

I understand and respect that it wasn't everyone's cup of tea and I don't have a problem with anyone disliking it, as a matter of fact half the venue I was at yesterday didn't really enjoy it. However musically, performance wise, use of stage and props and just overall energy I thought it was excellent. The Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin surprises were great additions as well.

It's good to have something different instead of rolling out the same mainstream suspects, something that opens the mind a bit is hardly a bad thing right now especially in the US.

Agree with much of the above.

One quibble - Bad Bunny IS mainstream.

He's not some obscure; niche woke artist that the NFL put on as some sort of statement. As i have noted he is the BIGGEST ARTIST IN THE WORLD.

As RPFC noted the NFL are a massive, massive business. The biggest sporting organization in the world, they generate more than $23 BILLION every year. It is untouchable.

The silly MAGA boycotts and alternative half time shows are water off a duck's back - in fact as i noted the NFL would love all ythe faux outrage because it's free publicity. As they could care less about losing the MAGA crowd, which for all the pathetic snowflake bleating, they won't anyway.

The NFL is aggressively looking to expand into foreign markets and make NFL an international sport. Next season they are playing nine regular season games, for points, internationally, including one at the MCG. Another is in Brazil. They are looking at having a team permanently based in Mexico City.

The NFL choose Bad Bunny solely because it was a very smart business decision - who better to penetrate international markets and drive brand recognition than the world most popular, most streamed musician?

As i predicted yesterday, the Bad Bunny (and Lady Gaga and Ricky martin) half time show had more viewers (140 million views and still climbing) than any previous show - just shading last year's artist that caused such angst among the MAGA snowflakes, Kendrick Lamar. In a world where attention is currency that's very good business.

As for the show being in Spanish? More than 60 million Americans (including Bad Bunny) speak Spanish as either their first or second language - nearly a fifth of the American population.

I expect I am in a minority of 1 (or maybe 2) but I don't see the point of these sort of 1/2 time shows. While some artists may have a big following, a lot of people attending an AFL GF might prefer other music (or even hate what the AFL has chosen).

But there is one thing people attending an AFL GF have in common (leaving aside some in the corporate boxes). Guess what that is. They like footy! How about 20 minutes of some footy related competitions beyond a sprint. Surely the geniuses at AFL HQ could think up some entertaining comps involving players, goalposts and a few footballs.

53 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

it should be oztrayan only performers

we have incredible artists around this nation and instead we get foreign artists parachuted in to make their millions and prepare for their next antipodean tour

it's appalling, but expected

I’ve got no problem with that at all…in fact, I’d prefer that. Maybe I didn’t get my point across well enough, as I’m suggesting that it can be made more enjoyable for the viewing audience as well as those in attendance.

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by hardtack

1 minute ago, sue said:

I expect I am in a minority of 1 (or maybe 2) but I don't see the point of these sort of 1/2 time shows. While some artists may have a big following, a lot of people attending an AFL GF might prefer other music (or even hate what the AFL has chosen).

But there is one thing people attending an AFL GF have in common (leaving aside some in the corporate boxes). Guess what that is. They like footy! How about 20 minutes of some footy related competitions beyond a sprint. Surely the geniuses at AFL HQ could think up some entertaining comps involving players, goalposts and a few footballs.

If it made the cost of admission cheaper, fine… but you could bet London to a brick that it wouldn’t… so I’m all for entertaining the masses before all of the footy starts. There are already plenty of footy related events going on in the general precinct, aren’t there?

15 hours ago, Bang Bang Bang said:

But, today’s spectacle was an absolute snooze fest. Definitely wouldn’t have won many casual fans over. About as interesting as a 2 hour long Simon Goodwin press conference.

Yeah, it’s funny what rocks our boats….for me, I love hispanic/latino rhythms and that performance had it in spades…I’d never heard of Bad Bunny before until the orange teletubbie got triggered, and so it did peek my interest. I reckon he’s a lot better and more interesting than the bulk of artists of that ilk. And I have to say, he wins hands down when it comes to which I preferred between his and Mariah Carey’s effort at the Frozen Olympics.

But regardless of any of that, my post was more about what the AFL could do to improve the presentation. I couldn’t give a rat’s if it was overseas or local artists, although I would prefer the latter… just make it a better spectacle.

I don’t watch NFL and certainly didn’t see the show, but as a genuine question, how long does the half time show go for?

Assume it is 1 hour plus. What do we expect the players to do during this time, walk up to Russell Street for dumplings to fill in time?

21 minutes ago, sue said:

I expect I am in a minority of 1 (or maybe 2) but I don't see the point of these sort of 1/2 time shows. While some artists may have a big following, a lot of people attending an AFL GF might prefer other music (or even hate what the AFL has chosen).

But there is one thing people attending an AFL GF have in common (leaving aside some in the corporate boxes). Guess what that is. They like footy! How about 20 minutes of some footy related competitions beyond a sprint. Surely the geniuses at AFL HQ could think up some entertaining comps involving players, goalposts and a few footballs.

Halftime AFLX?

1 hour ago, layzie said:

Metallica! Santa Clara has missed a trick twice now..

I’m going to petition the AFL to get Ministry on board.

2 minutes ago, SPC said:

I don’t watch NFL and certainly didn’t see the show, but as a genuine question, how long does the half time show go for?

Assume it is 1 hour plus. What do we expect the players to do during this time, walk up to Russell Street for dumplings to fill in time?

Its about 15 minutes long.

I mean, once we've been serenaded by the final 8 contestants of Australian Idol each taking a turn to sing two lines of a song, each in their 'unique' 'style', on a stage covered in plastic tablecloth, filmed by two guys running back and forward with handicams, I feel that maybe we've become accustomed to too high a standard of entertainment and need to rein in it a bit.

Maybe a live show of youtuber 'I did a thing' accidentally stabbing himself with a crankshaft while assembling a DIY delivery drone loaded with actual drugs which then get t-shirt-cannoned into the crowd along with loose pieces of metal?

I've got it! A multicultural half time mukbang. Six contestants from different backgrounds each have to eat an entire traditional main meal from each of the six cultures!

Disclaimer; I don't think I've ever stayed in the room for a half time show. Sausages don't turn themselves, y'know.

4 minutes ago, binman said:

Its about 15 minutes long.

Wow. Genuinely gobsmacked. I assumed with the acts playing and commercials it would be a long break to fit in production.

It was almost as if they hoped it would be incredibly polarising and generate (global) clicks for their industry. Id say the NFL nailed it.

Each to their own. Personally I’d like them to bring back the Sun Kick (or whatever it was called).

The GF is losing its event mojo compared to Tennis and F1.

Time to think about the build up plus if we're going to stick with a daytime GF the evening entertainment

By the by, the idea that the NFL is some woke collective is both hilarious and absurd.

Each team, except the Green Bay Packers, is owned by billionaires, many of whom are big GOP donors.

It's the most exclusive club in the world. A club that cares about one thing amd one thing only - making money

The owners control the NFL, an organisation that is notorious for it systematic racism and treatment of its black players.

4 minutes ago, Diamond_Jim said:

The GF is losing its event mojo compared to Tennis and F1.

Time to think about the build up plus if we're going to stick with a daytime GF the evening entertainment

the marketing of the australian open as 'the biggest music festival in oztraya' was interesting - clearly staking a claim and arguably delivering upon it, with hot chip, renee rapp, the kid laroi, the presets, spacey jane, and peggy gou; good combo of international and local acts

renee rapp had an interesting take on it:

Even she thinks this tennis crossover is a bit weird: “This thing might be about tennis, but for the next hour and fifteen it’s about me, [censored],” she tells us.

2 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

the marketing of the australian open as 'the biggest music festival in oztraya' was interesting - clearly staking a claim and arguably delivering upon it, with hot chip, renee rapp, the kid laroi, the presets, spacey jane, and peggy gou; good combo of international and local acts

renee rapp had an interesting take on it:

Even she thinks this tennis crossover is a bit weird: “This thing might be about tennis, but for the next hour and fifteen it’s about me, [censored],” she tells us.

F1 in Melbourne will get 400k through the gate over 4 days. Not bad for a race that most can't see and which only goes for 90 minutes

One minor point - the spectacle at the stadium for the halftime show is atrocious. Bad sound, only shown on one of the digital screens, intricate dance moves etc that are great for tv but absolutely putrid for the audience there. From what I've heard, it was awesome for people watching from home, but as a live spectacle it was utterly woeful. And that's fine because obviously tv audience eclipses live audience by a hell of a lot, but had to pull you up on the notion that the in-stadium spectators got a great show, coz we definitely didn't.

Agree with HT that it was a good spectacle and looks great on TV

But the music itself was horrible. Loud beat and average vocals. each song undistinguishable from the next.

28 minutes ago, AshMac said:

One minor point - the spectacle at the stadium for the halftime show is atrocious. Bad sound, only shown on one of the digital screens, intricate dance moves etc that are great for tv but absolutely putrid for the audience there. From what I've heard, it was awesome for people watching from home, but as a live spectacle it was utterly woeful. And that's fine because obviously tv audience eclipses live audience by a hell of a lot, but had to pull you up on the notion that the in-stadium spectators got a great show, coz we definitely didn't.

Did you go AshMac?

I didn't obviously, but that's exactly what i thought watching - ie it would have been horrible watching it live. You wouldn't have been able to see anything with all the sugar cane and the rest of the palaver. It's so obviously not for the crowd at the game, but rather for people watching on TV, Youtube etc etc.

1 hour ago, SPC said:

I don’t watch NFL and certainly didn’t see the show, but as a genuine question, how long does the half time show go for?

Assume it is 1 hour plus. What do we expect the players to do during this time, walk up to Russell Street for dumplings to fill in time?

it was around 35 mins yesterday

double the usual time

1 hour ago, binman said:

By the by, the idea that the NFL is some woke collective is both hilarious and absurd.

Each team, except the Green Bay Packers, is owned by billionaires, many of whom are big GOP donors.

It's the most exclusive club in the world. A club that cares about one thing amd one thing only - making money

The owners control the NFL, an organisation that is notorious for it systematic racism and treatment of its black players.

the reasons above are exactly why billionaires push the woke agenda. It's great cover and distracts from their greed and avarice.

3 hours ago, Oxdee said:

Strange choice to have a performance all in Spanish considering it’s an English speaking country. No one understood what he was saying. There would be an uproar here if a singer decided to sing songs all in Greek or Italian

Put aside the language barrier for a moment as i think the worlds youth has progressed past this. The performance itself was horrendous.. i listen to a lot of modern latin rap / hip hop and dance music (well my wife does and i happen to be in her precense) and dont mind it at all. This was nothing like that. not one iota.

18 minutes ago, BDA said:

the reasons above are exactly why billionaires push the woke agenda. It's great cover and distracts from their greed and avarice.

The NFL does not push a woke agenda, that was my point. The idea they do is a result of the how effectively the alt right control narrative, and therefore the framing of discourse.

The closest the NFL had ever got to being woke was their flaccid response to the George Floyd murder. Even then they ran Kapernick out of the game for daring to protest.

There was nothing woke about their decision to engage Roc Nation to produce the half time show, or ticking off Kendrick Lamar or Bad Bunny, two of the biggest artists in the last 20 years. Those decisions were all about the bottom line.

And besides, much to the chagrin of the alt-right chattering class (who desperately wanted to see Bad Bunny come out in a dress and make anti ICE statements) there was nothing woke about Bad Bunny's performance, nor for that matter of Green Days pregame performance. In many ways it was as American as Apple pie. Just not white America.

Edited 8 hours ago8 hr by binman