I love my hometown! Sure, it may not be a tourist destination like nearby Toronto or Chicago, but it has its merits, one of which is its rich musical history. Detroiters love their music whether it's Motown, Rock and Roll, Techno, Jazz, Hip-Hop, whatevah. When Super Bowl entertainment organizers had an open call for people to be on the field during the Half-Time and Pre-Game shows -- as long as they were no older than 45 -- I knew there was gonna be trouble.
The pre-game and half-time artists are way older than that -- Stevie Wonder is 55 and the youngest member of the Stones is 58. That means their "peer" friends are around the same age. Organizers said the reason for the age limit was to ensure that participants were physically fit. That means that if you're 47 -- like say, Detroit native Madonna -- you're not fit enough to stand for 20 minutes, no matter how much yoga and pilates you do.
The NFL got a flurry of phone calls protesting the age limit and now they're inviting people 18 and over to participate.
Many Detroiters weren't thrilled with the choice of the Stones as the half-time headliners in the first place. They felt the NFL could have chosen any number of Detroit area musicians like Aretha Franklin, Bob Seger, Eminem or the White Stripes or a Motown tribute of some kind. Organizers pointed out that they did a 40th Anniversary of Motown theme in 1998 and that this year Stevie will be the pre-show act.
But it would have been nice to have a theme about all the great music that's come out of Detroit in many genres.
Link: Now, no one is too old to rock at Super Bowl.
Also see: History of Jazz in Detroit.
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