The Prince of The Super Bowl

CBS after the debacle of their last Super Bowl halftime presentation makes a most curious choice. In a way it really paid off.

My fondest memories of the artist formerly and once again known as Prince come from a having a brief acquaintance of a young woman known as Tina. Prince was the "it" musician and she was the "it" girl who seemed to personify the everything purple persona. I didn’t care much for Prince, but now Tina was another story. This woman would make a statue’s head turn. It has been more than a few years since and I care as much for Prince now as I did then.

The crash from the past

 So, imagine my confusion as to why for this past Super Bowl, they would dust this man off and pay millions to perform what now has become elevator music at halftime. It came to mind the game was being televised on the CBS network.  The last time they had that gig was the infamous Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake costume malfunction.  This incident became a rite of passage for Justin and a lot of pre-pubic boys and older lecherous males. This time around CBS wanted to stay with its basic concept and play it safe.

Playing both sides at once

 The concept of course was a music show that played to both the male and female audience. Prince considered an androgyny due to his to the brink cross-dressing image fit the bill.  The man mixed biker outlaw with make up and effeminate tendencies as a self brand that conquered America . I realized his influence back in the day when I saw Tina with her jock boyfriend, Phil who was suddenly wearing make up and eyeliner.  The sight would cause a friend of mine for whom the word "macho" was an understatement turn and comment, "Did she make the boy go sissy?" In truth, many so-called macho men were suddenly mimicking the "Prince" look.   The man born Prince Rogers Nelson was an icon that captivated men and woman of a generation. While he still wore makeup and eyeliner, he had long since converted to being a Jehovah Witness and no longer slid on pants that left his butt cheeks hanging out. As for his playlist, the musician whose once cutting edge sound rocked the world, now can be heard casually in elevators and while on hold for many business and companies.  In a way, CBS was playing it as safe as it can get this time around.

Mother Nature plays no favorites

 Besides Prince, this Super Bowl had the distinction of being the first to be played in forty-one years in heavy rain.  Mother Nature who probably has long forgotten the musician did not even have the courtesy to hold up her watery torrent for the halftime show. I come from an age when if a musician and star did not like even the look of a venue, they would storm out last minute. I once did security for a heavy metal band called "Mountain" who canceled a sold-out show fifteen minutes prior because they suddenly felt the stage was two feet too low.  In contrast, on Super Bowl night Prince and his dancing entourage performed effortlessly in ignorance of the heavy rainfall. This performer put on a show that enthralled young and old with no more than the casual reference to the weather. This I doubt Janet and Justin would have even subjected their heads to, let alone other body parts.

After the "Purple Rain"

 I am not a "Purple Rain" fan nor have I ever been. I do appreciate an artist who appreciates the fans. His own music once popular seemed out of step with the event. I did enjoy the rendition of the Ike and Tina Turner, "Proud Mary" where Prince impersonated the Tina part right down to the hair flick.  I guess he was just affirming his predilection to androgyny, but he did it well.  The back up singer-dancers get a big round of applause for not losing it on the glossy slick stage floor in those retro high heeled boots. I did feel sorry for my old friend Tina and the Prince fandom as his trademark "Purple Rain" experience was dampened by the downpour in the finale.  Yet, he did a formidable job in unfortunate circumstance.  However, while I appreciate his revival of my Tina memories, I will never be convinced he was the best choice at a supreme game day event so many years past the prime of his popularity.