Could "Weird Al" Make Super Bowl Halftime Fun Again?
I know, I know, you're tired of talking about the Super Bowl and the halftime show. We already got Madonna's reaction to M.I.A.'s middle finger — what more do we need? Well, we could always plan next year. Alternative comedy fans and polka enthusiasts are at the forefront of a movement to get "Weird Al" Yankovic to perform at Super Bowl halftime next year. To some, this might seem like a lost cause, but let's not forget the power of the internet to effect great change. Remember when we ended SOPA?
It all began in The New York Daily News' column The Score last weekend, with writer Julian Garcia making the bold suggestion that a "true American icon" should take the stage at halftime next year.
Go ahead and laugh. That's what he wants you to do. And that's exactly what you will be doing at halftime of Super Bowl XVLII if I get my way.
However tongue-in-cheek Garcia's initial column, his follow-up column talks about making this dream a reality.
The ball has already started rolling toward what would be the most anticipated halftime show ever. Several petitions have already begun circulating on the Internet, and a Google search for the term "Weird Al Super Bowl petition" called up more than 68,000 results. A Facebook page has been started, and as of Friday morning, that page's petition was boasting more than 600 signatures in favor of Weird Al crashing the NFL's party.
The internet has spoken, and it demands big hair and big song parodies. What began as (I assume) a joke could be just what Super Bowl halftime needs. We don't have to grimace through garish pyrotechnic displays and pop songs written to the lowest common denominator. "Weird Al" could do something truly interesting with the show — and who doesn't want to see his take on a Janet Jackson-esque "wardrobe malfunction"?
On Twitter, where the real change happens, comedian Patton Oswalt is promoting the #SuperAl hashtag created by under-the-radar Twitter user @KarlEngman. It's been a little over half an hour, and at the time of this post, #SuperAl is the number two trending topic in the United States. Now all we have to do is keep this momentum going for another year. Though I guess we can take a break for the presidential election in November.