Personally I think people spend too much time discussing the importance of the halftime show.
For example, the New York Times gushed with this headline,
Beyoncé Silences Doubters With Intensity at Halftime
What doubters? Everybody knows she can sing. She’s the one who doubted her ability during the inauguration. I was just making fun of her for faking the national anthem with, you know, the entire world watching. The issue is life’s gotten to the point where even the most important events need to be staged to give an appearance of perfection. What if Beyoncé had sung live and had her voice seize up because of the cold? So what? Life goes on.
And nothing emphasized that life goes on better last night than when after Beyoncé gave her performance, the Super Dome blew a fuse — or something — and the entire staged production was put on hold. Well, that’s how life works.
The game, which until then had been a rather boring blowout, went on to finish as one of the most exciting Super Bowls in recent memory. You can try to stage things all you want, but in the end it’s the reality that people remember.
As for Beyoncé, she’s joined a long list of marching bands, singers beyond their prime, and Up With People as headliners of the halftime show.
But since the halftime show has become a ratings event unto itself, it’s on to New York City for the 2014 Super Bowl where halftime producers not only have to come up with a better show than Beyoncé, but deal with weather related issues as well. Good luck with that.