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On February 8, 2026 the NFL put Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny on the Super Bowl LX halftime stage, a choice the league touted as a bold, global move — and one that drew well over a hundred million viewers. The spectacle was massive, and Apple Music data showed a huge post-show streaming surge, but the size of the audience didn’t erase the obvious fact: many Americans were left bewildered by a halftime show that felt less like a patriotic halftime and more like a promotional tour.
A short, unfiltered clip of a Black grandmother watching the performance from her living room captured that bewilderment and went viral almost immediately; her blunt reactions — “Get out of here! You can’t sing” and “Put the game back on, I CAN’T STAND THIS” — were plainspoken and resonated with millions who expected the Super Bowl to be a familiar, family-friendly moment. That viral moment wasn’t manufactured by pundits; it was a real American voter speaking for a lot of folks who felt their halftime hour was taken from them.
Conservative commentators and everyday viewers weren’t the only ones raising alarms — critics across social media blasted the performance for being largely in Spanish and steeped in cultural references many mainstream viewers couldn’t follow, and even outlets reported a wave of backlash that followed the show. The pushback was loud enough that it prompted headlines across the country and even led to the artist clearing his Instagram, showing that cultural stunts on our biggest stages carry real reputational risk.
Not surprisingly, right-leaning groups answered the NFL’s move with a countermessage: Turning Point USA and conservative artists staged an All-American alternative halftime concert the same night to offer viewers another option, a clear sign there’s a market for traditional patriotic entertainment. The alternative stream didn’t match the official broadcast’s total reach, but its very existence proved conservatives aren’t going to sit quietly while national institutions drift from the values of ordinary Americans.
Let’s be blunt: the Super Bowl has always been a shared American ritual, and swapping out that shared language for something many viewers can’t understand is a tone-deaf move by a league chasing relevance at the cost of its own fans. Patriots who love this country and its traditions shouldn’t be dismissed as yesterday’s audience; they’re the backbone of the sport and their voices — like that grandmother’s from her couch — deserve respect, not sneers from media elites.
If the NFL wants to keep the Super Bowl truly American, it should remember who built the game and who pays for the ads: hardworking families who tune in for the spectacle, the pageantry, and yes, the familiar comfort of halftime that feels like home. The lesson from this weekend is simple — you can chase a global narrative, or you can defend what unites Americans; you cannot do both without alienating the very people who made your product great.
