I watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, including the halftime show, and since the Bad Bunny halftime show is still a topic of conversation, I wanted to make a couple of points that are hopefully not just hot takes about red vs blue, or whatever.
First, Bad Bunny was not performing at the Super Bowl because the NFL had any motivation other than pure monetary interest. I just spent two months in Mexico. From the kid I saw in a store in La Paz, Baja California Sur with a Chief’s hat (he smiled when I said “Go Chiefs”) to the many, many Mexicans wearing hats or t-shirts with NFL teams on them on the mainland, it was clear that Mexicans are interested in American football. (They’re more interested in soccer, but that’s another post). The end of Bad Bunny’s show, where he name-checked every South and Central American country, with Mexico, the US and Canada at the end, was what the NFL wanted. They want everyone south of the border to know that they are seen and appreciated by the NFL, as fans. The owners might not appreciate them as human beings, but they still want them to buy merch, to subscribe to cable packages, and to attend games when they’re hosted in Spanish-speaking countries.
Second, the NFL has a track record of using artists who are not the favorites of their white, male fan base. Here’s the last 5: 2020: Shakira and J Lo, 2021: The Weeknd, 2022: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar, 2023: Rihanna, 2024: Usher. Again, more evidence that the hand in charge here is the invisible hand, not the owners’ hands.
Third, Bad Bunny put on a good show. I wasn’t the audience for it, of course. My wife tells me that all of the food carts and other vendors who were in the show were local businesses. The attention to detail showed that he wasn’t phoning it in. He knew this was the moment for Puerto Rico and he made the most of it. Good for him.
Fourth, NBC should have subtitled the show. This would have helped the millions of people who were watching and wanted to understand a little more of what was going on.
One of the many lessons that the last 13 months has taught us is that corporations are not our friends. They’re driven by the profit motive, above all, but they’re also trying to work the government to protect themselves from competition. Most of them have ditched even the appearance of giving a shit about the public good. Look at companies that liberals would once have said have some public sprit: Apple and Target are two good examples. They volunteered themselves as tributes to MAGA. When Democrats get some power back, we need to tax and regulate them all, without regard to their pretty words. Bad Bunny’s appearance at the Super Bowl was a business decision, nothing more or less, and it should be treated as such.
